Aspects of Thermal Spray Molding of Micro Components

In this paper the principle of “Thermal Spray Molding” and some application are presented. Micro technology is a very fast growing market nowadays. Metallic micro devices can be produced for example by means of stereo lithography and selective etching. Unfortunately the material range for these processes is limited. The new manufacturing concept of thermal spray molding uses powder or wire as base material, so that an extended material choice for micro parts, for example micro components made of super hard or corrosion resistant steel is possible.