Layerwise slurry deposition of technical ceramics: an approach for dense powder-beds in additive manufacturing
- Several Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes are based on the deposition of a powder to form a powder-bed layer-by-layer which typically has a low packing density (35-50%) and consequently hinders the ability of sintering ceramic parts to full density.
The layerwise slurry deposition (LSD) is an innovative process for the deposition of layers in AM. In the LSD, a slurry with no or small organic content is repetitively spread as thin layers on each other by means of a doctor blade. During the deposition, the ceramic particles settle to form thin layers with a high packing density (55-60%). When coupled with a printing head or with a laser, the LSD enables novel AM technologies inspired to the 3D printing or selective laser sintering, but taking advantage of having a highly dense powder-bed. This approach has been successfully applied to silicate ceramics, but implementing technical ceramic slurries is more challenging, because the water is drained too quickly from the suspension intoSeveral Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes are based on the deposition of a powder to form a powder-bed layer-by-layer which typically has a low packing density (35-50%) and consequently hinders the ability of sintering ceramic parts to full density.
The layerwise slurry deposition (LSD) is an innovative process for the deposition of layers in AM. In the LSD, a slurry with no or small organic content is repetitively spread as thin layers on each other by means of a doctor blade. During the deposition, the ceramic particles settle to form thin layers with a high packing density (55-60%). When coupled with a printing head or with a laser, the LSD enables novel AM technologies inspired to the 3D printing or selective laser sintering, but taking advantage of having a highly dense powder-bed. This approach has been successfully applied to silicate ceramics, but implementing technical ceramic slurries is more challenging, because the water is drained too quickly from the suspension into the pores of the previous porous layer forming a cast.
In this presentation, the variables involved in the LSD will be analyzed and the latest improvements in the deposition setup will be described. The application of the LSD to technical ceramics has the potential of generating additive manufacturing parts which in the green state are comparable to those produced by slip casting.…