When designing parts to be manufactured using MIM, most of the design rules for plastic injection molding still apply. However, there are some exceptions or additions, such as the following:

Wall thickness - Just as with plastic injection molding, wall thickness should be minimized and kept uniform throughout the part. It is worth noting that in the MIM process, minimizing wall thickness not only reduces material volume and cycle time, but also reduces the debinding and sintering times as well.
Draft - Unlike plastic injection molding, many MIM parts do not require any draft. The polymer binder used in the powder material releases more easily from the mold than most injection molded polymers. Also, MIM parts are ejected before they fully cool and shrink around the mold features because the metal powder in the mixture takes longer to cool.

Sintering support - During sintering, MIM parts must be properly supported or they may distort as they shrink. By designing parts with flat surfaces on the same plane, standard flat support trays can be used. Otherwise, more expensive custom supports may be required.