Defects in Large Ceramic Injection Mouldings

Ceramic injection moulding is a well established processing technique, but is still limited to thin section components. This paper gives an overview of a variety of defects which appear preferentially in thick moulding sections. The generation of porosity and voidage during packing and solidification are discussed and related to the conditions prevailing during solidification. The use of an insulated sprue extended gate solidification and eliminated voids in thick sections and the use of a polyoxymethylene binder system enabled the progressive removal of binder from large 35 mm sections. Low hold pressure, applied by using a modified injection moulding machine reduced residual stress-induced cracking. Pronounced differential sintering was traced to particle alignment during mould filling and could be eliminated by using equiaxed powders.