Guide
How Do You Specify a MIM Material on a Drawing: MPIF 35-MIM, ASTM B883 or ISO 22068?
A MIM material is specified on a drawing by naming one standard, its edition year, a grade designation and a condition, so that the supplier and the buyer work from the same property table. Three standards are in common use: MPIF Standard 35-MIM, ASTM B883 and ISO 22068.
By Saola Manufacturing engineering team · Published · Updated
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What are the three MIM material standards, and who publishes them?
They are MPIF Standard 35-MIM from the Metal Powder Industries Federation, ASTM B883 from ASTM International, and ISO 22068 from ISO. All three are sold, so this guide covers scope, edition status and the wording of the drawing note, and does not quote a property table.
MPIF Standard 35-MIM is in its 2025 edition, which the publisher says makes all prior editions obsolete. ASTM B883-24 is the current edition of the ASTM specification, last updated in February 2024. ISO 22068:2012 is the ISO document, published in June 2012. The table sets out what each says about itself, taken from the publishers’ own listings and the MPIF change summary, not from the standards’ paid text.
This guide is for an engineer or quality person writing a material note on a MIM part drawing, and for a buyer whose quote cites one of the three. The question is not which standard is best, because they are not ranked. It is which one the drawing should name, and what to ask the supplier to provide against it.
| Standard | Publisher and status | What it covers | Points to note |
|---|---|---|---|
| MPIF Standard 35-MIM | Metal Powder Industries Federation. 2025 edition; the publisher states that it renders all prior editions obsolete. First issued 1993. | Materials for MIM parts, with explanatory notes and definitions, and property data in inch-pound and SI units | The MIM suffix was added to the title in 2018. Structural, bearing and powder-forged parts have their own standards in the 35 family |
| ASTM B883-24 | ASTM International. Listed as active; earlier editions on the page include B883-19 and B883-17 | Ferrous MIM materials made by mixing powders with binders, injection, debinding and sintering, with or without later heat treatment. Grades include MIM-316L, MIM-17-4 PH, MIM-420, MIM-430L and MIM-4605 | Composition limits are in a table of the standard. The page says chemical analysis covers copper, chromium, molybdenum and nickel, and that materials are subjected to tensile and unnotched Charpy impact tests |
| ISO 22068:2012 | ISO. Published 2012-06-14; listed as published | Chemical composition and mechanical and physical properties of sintered MIM materials, to help design and materials engineers specify them | Covers MIM only. It excludes structural parts made by other powder metallurgy routes, such as press-and-sinter or powder forging |
Which standard should the drawing cite?
Cite one standard, with its edition year, a grade designation and a condition, and pick the one your own documents already use. In a US-centered program that is usually ASTM B883 or MPIF Standard 35-MIM, and in an ISO-based program it is ISO 22068.
A material note that lists alternatives, for example “MIM-17-4 PH per ASTM B883 or ISO 22068”, leaves the supplier free to choose, and the buyer cannot tell which property table applies. Write a single reference. A workable form is: material designation, standard and year, and the condition in which the material is supplied (as sintered, or the heat-treated or aged state). The designation systems differ between the three documents, so do not assume that a grade name in one maps cleanly to a grade name in another. If you need to move between standards, ask the supplier for a written cross-reference and check it against the text of the standard you hold.
The scope lines matter in two cases. If the quoted process is press-and-sinter, not MIM, ISO 22068 does not apply, because it excludes structural parts made by other powder metallurgy routes. And if the part is a powder-forged or bearing part, the MPIF 35 family has other documents for it. Check that the standard you cite covers the process you are buying.
Does the edition year matter?
Yes, because MPIF states that its 2025 edition renders all prior editions obsolete, and ASTM lists B883-24 as the active edition with earlier ones kept as other versions. A drawing that cites no year, or an old one, leaves open which table the part is held to.
MPIF’s own change summary shows how the standard moves: the 2025 edition added an entry the summary lists as “MIM 4-20 HIP’d & HT”, titanium alloys and 17-4 PH corrosion data, and the 2018 edition added a HIP’d, quenched and tempered 4605 condition and the H975 and H1025 conditions of 17-4 PH (MPIF Standard 35-MIM Summary of Major Changes). The same summary says 2018 was the first time the MIM suffix appeared in the title. A drawing from before then that says only “MPIF Standard 35” does not name the MIM document, and the family now includes separate standards for structural parts, bearings and powder-forged parts (MPIF standards page).
You have two defensible ways to handle the year. Pin the edition on the drawing, which keeps the requirement stable but means a revision is needed to move to a newer edition. Or reference the latest edition, which tracks the standard but can change the requirement without a drawing revision. Either is acceptable. What is not acceptable is silence, because then the supplier and the buyer may each be working from a different edition.
What should you ask the supplier to provide against the standard?
Ask for the material designation, the standard and year, the condition, and the test results the standard calls for, and ask which are run on your lot. Do not ask for a general statement that the material meets the standard.
The ASTM B883-24 listing says that chemical analysis shall be performed for copper, chromium, molybdenum and nickel, and that the materials shall be subjected to tensile and unnotched Charpy impact tests. It does not say how often. That is the question to settle in writing: whether each is run per lot, per qualification, or on a stated sampling plan, and what you receive. Tie it to the certificate type with the guides on EN 10204 3.1 versus 2.2 and certificate of conformance requirements.
- The designation and standard with year, as written on your drawing.
- The condition supplied, and any heat treatment after sintering.
- Composition results for the lot, and which elements are reported.
- Mechanical test results, with the test method named.
- The sampling plan: per lot, per qualification, or on request.
A density figure, a hardness value or a corrosion test is only a requirement if it is on the drawing or the purchase order. Add the ones that matter for your part, and keep each one tied to a method.
What if the quote cites a different standard than the drawing?
Treat it as an open item, not a detail: ask which standard, edition and entry the supplier’s data come from, and have them restate the quote against the one on your drawing. Mismatches are common when a plant works to one document and the customer drawing cites another.
Check three things on the quote. The designation, because the same alloy name can sit in more than one document under different codes. The edition year, for the reasons above. And the condition, because a quote for an as-sintered material does not meet a drawing that calls for a heat-treated one. If the supplier cannot give you the entry it works to, that is a sign the material has not been specified, only named.
Saola places MIM work through a partner plant it manages, and the quote states the production site. When you review a MIM quote, ask for the standard, edition and condition in the same message. The MIM and powder metal capability page describes how the program is organized, and CNC turning covers machined features finished after sintering.
Frequently asked
Can I get the property tables from this guide?
No. MPIF Standard 35-MIM, ASTM B883 and ISO 22068 are all sold by their publishers, and this guide gives only scope, edition status and drawing wording.
Is ASTM B883 only for stainless?
No. The ASTM listing says it covers ferrous MIM materials and names grades in several families, including low-alloy steels and martensitic, ferritic, austenitic and precipitation-hardening stainless steels (ASTM B883-24).
Does ISO 22068 cover press-and-sinter parts?
No. The standards listing says it applies to MIM materials only and excludes structural parts made by other powder metallurgy methods such as press-and-sinter or powder forging (ISO 22068:2012).
Which edition of MPIF Standard 35-MIM is current?
The 2025 edition. The publisher says it renders all prior editions obsolete and advises readers to make sure they hold the latest edition (MIMA, MPIF Standard 35).
Should I cite two standards for safety?
No. Citing two leaves the supplier free to choose and the buyer unsure which property table applies. Cite one and ask for a written cross-reference if you need the other.
Sources
- MPIF Standard 35: Materials Standards for Metal Injection Molded Parts, Metal Injection Molding Association, 2025 edition page, accessed October 2026
- MPIF Standard 35-MIM, Summary of Major Changes, Metal Powder Industries Federation, file dated April 2025
- MPIF Material Standards, Metal Powder Industries Federation, accessed October 2026 (Standard 35-MIM listed as the 2025 edition)
- MIMA, Publications, Metal Injection Molding Association, accessed October 2026
- ASTM B883-24, Standard Specification for Metal Injection Molded (MIM) Materials, ASTM International store page, last updated February 2024
- ISO 22068:2012, Sintered metal injection-molded materials, Specifications, Standards Council of Canada standards database listing, published 2012