In the past few years, China’s MIM technology has been close to the international advanced level, but subject to the characteristics of the technical process, in some areas still can not scale the application of MIM technology, such as ultra-small, ultra-large MIM products and a variety of materials combined MIM products and other fields, there is still a large space for technological development. Recently, the Guangdong Science and Technology Innovation Conference was held in Guangzhou, and the 2021 Guangdong Science and Technology Award was awarded at the conference. The conference set up five awards, and received a total of 1,031 nominations. Zhaowei Electromechanical (003021) broke this pattern by winning the first prize of Guangdong Science and Technology Progress Award with the project of “High quality and efficient large-scale manufacturing technology and industrialization of Small modulus powder unmetallurgical gear (MIM/PM)”.

The so-called small module refers to the gear whose module is less than 2mm, generally known as the small module gear. In the field of high-end precision equipment, the small module gear should be very extensive. The processing method of small module gear, its basic principle is the same as that of large and medium module gear, and the processing and manufacturing level of high-precision small module gear is also a reflection of the level of equipment manufacturing industry. MIM is known as one of the “international hottest metal parts forming technology”, has become the international powder metallurgy field of rapid development, the most promising of a new type of near-net forming technology. The global MIM market is growing steadily, and the industry has great potential for development.

3BSE008510R1 DO810

3BSE008510R1 DO810

According to Liding Industry Research Center, the domestic MIM market size will reach 14.14 billion yuan in 2026. With the rise and development of smart phones such as 5G smartphones, multi-camera smartphones, and foldable screen phones, as well as the development of wearable devices such as smart watches and TWS headphones, the internal structure of consumer electronic devices continues to develop towards the trend of precision and miniaturization.

The MIM process has obvious advantages in manufacturing precision structural parts with high complexity, high precision, high strength and beautiful appearance, so the overall market space of the MIM industry is still expected to maintain a certain growth. MIM has a wide range of applications, and globally, the MIM process has been widely used in many fields such as automobiles, electronic products, medical devices, consumer goods, in addition to mobile phones and wearable devices. However, there are significant differences in the structure of MIM applications around the world: the MIM process is mainly used in the electronics industry in the Asian market, in the North American market, mainly for medical devices and other fields, and in Europe it is more focused on the automotive and consumer goods industry. At present, there are hundreds of MIM manufacturers in the world. Asia, as an important gathering area for global MIM and the main product producing area, gathers most of the MIM manufacturers in the world. Among them, most of the manufacturers have an annual revenue of less than 200 million yuan, a small number of customers or the main service brands of middle and low-end, and are in a weak position in the industry competition. There are only a handful of first-tier companies in the MIM industry with annual revenue of more than 500 million yuan. However, with the gradual recognition of MIM technology by the market, in recent years, the market competition environment of the MIM industry has also undergone great changes, and the downstream large assembly plants and some listed companies in the consumer electronics industry have carried out vertical integration of the upstream and downstream industries, and joined the ranks of the competition in the MIM industry, making the large-scale competition subject further increased.