Tony Hansen, - Understanding The Deflocculation Process in Slip Casting, - Digitalfire Corporation, 2008

3/19/2014 digitalfire.com/4sight/education/understanding_the_deflocculation_process_in_slip_casting_213.
html
Logged in as
Digitalfire Level 2 access:
Ceramics Logout
Technical
Articles
Oxides | Minerals | Materials | Recipes | Articles | Glossary | Hazards |
Library | MDT | Pictures | Properties | Schedules | Temperatures | Tests |
Troubles | Typecodes
Understanding the
Deflocculation You should always be testing.
But it is wasted without an
Process in Slip audit trail. Document your
lifetime of recipes, firing
Casting schedules, test results,
pictures and much more in a
private account at insight-
Section: Clay Bodies, live.com. It is the future, the
next step after desktop
Subsection: Testing Digitalfire Insight.
Description Watch the video, learn

more or sign-up at
Understanding the magic of deflocculation and
how to measure specific gravity and viscosity,
http://insight-live.com.
and how to interpret the results of these tests to
adjust the slip, these are the key to controlling a casting process.
Article
The only exposure many have had to the casting process is the local art ware
shops where fragile low-fire objects like ceramic frogs and nativity sets are made.
These companies pour liquid clay slurry into plaster molds and let it sit. The plaster
absorbs water from the slurry building up a layer against the mold surface. When
this layer has reached the desired thickness the slurry is poured back out of the
http://digitalfire.com/4sight/education/understanding_the_deflocculation_process_in_slip_casting_213.html 1/17
3/19/2014 digitalfire.com/4sight/education/understanding_the_deflocculation_process_in_slip_casting_213.html
mold. The mold then sits for a few minutes (or hours if it is large) and the clay
article slowly stiffens, shrinks and pulls away from the plaster. The mold is then
taken apart and the leather hard clay item removed. A simple mix of clay and water
will not work well at all for casting. Not only will it quickly waterlog the molds but it
will shrink too much (and therefore crack in the molds) and it will take much to long
to cast. It will also gel and settle out and generally make the process miserable.
Optimal casting requires that the slurry have minimal water content (e.g. 30%
instead of 60%), good flow and draining properties and that it not settle out or gel
too quickly. When the slurry is right the casting process works amazingly well.
The artware operations buy molds, glazes, and clay slurries from a supply industry
that gears itself to providing all the needed support so that almost anyone can
manage the process with minimal technical knowledge about deflocculation. A big
part of the success of the hobby casting industry is the standardization on a clay
slurry recipe (called 'slip') of 50% talc and 50% ball clay (with smaller variations
and additions). While this body falls far short of vitrification when fired, its working
properties are very good, it dries very well and is about as 'idiot proof' as you can
get in forming ceramics (although not idiot-proof enough as we shall see). Many
people buy their clay slurry already mixed but most bigger operations get dry clay
and use a mixer to blend it with the correct amount of water and deflocculant
(sodium silicate, soda ash, Darvan, etc). The existence of this ‘standard’ clay:talc
recipe enables manufacturers to provide an incredible array of glaze, stain, slip,
and decorative products that everyone can use. This standard body also allows
the manufacturers to take primary responsibility for formulations relieving the user
to concentrate on the task of learning to use all those products. Thus most hobby
ceramists are quite happy and few have the desire to go out ‘on their own’ to
develop bodies and matching glazes for higher temperatures. They appear to live
in the blissful world of a reliable ceramic process.
Actually, I have probably overstated the level of knowledge that most hobby
casters have about slip rheology. In actual fact, most expect to be able to execute
the process while being willfully unaware of the basic principles of mixing and
maintaining slip clay. They want to rely completely on following printed and word-
of-mouth procedures. Amazingly many have no idea what the term 'deflocculation'
even means and are unaware of the magic that occurs in the bucket when they mix
the slurry. They are unfamiliar with what ball clay is and wonder why on earth a
clay body would have so much of a powder they put on baby's bumbs. They are
also blissfully unaware that the body fires to much higher than 10% porosity and is
thus extremely weak compared to any normal ceramic. Not surprisingly, they are
unable to stray from the standard body (e.g. to make a terra cotta, porcelain,
stoneware, etc).
Potters, on the other hand, are generally fascinated by the basic processes they
use. Many potters have developed their own processes, built their own kilns, and
even designed their own clay and glaze recipes. They often regard these
developments with the same pride as the creativity they put into their ware. Many
potters find the casting process distant and even beneath their dignity both
because of the fact that molds and commercial glazes are used, but also because
of the general ignorance in the hobby casting industry. By contrast, technicians in
the industrial casting industry (e.g. Sanitary ware) are much more keenly aware of
not only the things the hobby casters try to get away with ignoring but things
potters don't know about materials and process either. If you listen to one of these
technicians talk about their work you will hear terms like specific gravity, viscosity,
thixotropy and rheology. On an even more technical level the cutting edge of the
casting industry pressure-pumps slip into precisely fitting molds made from hi-tech
non-plaster materials. There is an obvious need for a slip with optimal flow
properties in such a process.
Sooner or later people in ceramic production realize that for many ceramic shapes
there is no better fabrication method than casting. When people do adopt the
process they usually encounter an unexpected situation: The complexity of making
molds and tooling up the operation turns out to be easier to master than
developing a slurry body and getting it to cast properly. Knowing the 'basic science'
is by far the best way to attack this problem. A casting body needs to fire the way
you want, fit your glazes and cast properly. Thus there is a real need to
understand how these factors intertwine with each other.
First consider how casting body dry ingredient recipes differ from plastic bodies.
Casting bodies do not need to be nearly as plastic as jiggering, throwing or
pressing bodies since they do not require shaping. Plasticity is only needed to
impart shrinkage so the piece pulls away from the mold and to give it adequate dry
strength. Too much plasticity is actually bad because plastic materials are less
permeable to the passage of water through them, the casting process is slower
(casting speed is an important factor in the process) and ware can split in molds
with undercuts. Since ball clays are plastic you might then be wondering: “why
does the hobby casting standard body have 50% ball clay?”. The answer is two-
fold. Large particle low plasticity white burning ball clays are used and they are
much more permeable. In addition, the talc also greatly increases the ability of the
body to channel water. Obviously it would cast even faster if some kaolin were
used instead, but the tough nature of the greenware imparted by the ball clay is
seen as more important. In industry, stoneware and porcelain casting bodies
employ far less plastic clay because they know how to deal with lower dry
strengths and they employ special hardeners in the clay if needed.
No matter what temperature or type of ware you make, the casting process has
some compelling advantages over plastic or dust forming methods. Consider:
Many shapes are very difficult or impossible to produce any other way.
Slip cast ware can dry-shrink as little as 1.5% (compared to 6%-8% for plastic
stoneware bodies).
Porcelain can be made whiter and more translucent because the dirtier plastic
materials are not needed.
All clay can be reclaimed and put into slip for reuse.
Slip is easy to magnetically purify and to sieve, and its consistency can be
adjusted easily for optimum workability.
Slip cast ware can be made much lighter, thinner, and stronger.
With some bodies handles and add-ons can even be applied to dry ware using
slip and no cracking occurs!
You have control of your clay body recipe, thus it is feasible to adjust it to get
higher or lower thermal expansion, greater translucency, or to make a custom
body for refractory or low fire applications.
Understanding Slip Rheology

Most people take the properties of liquids like oil or hand creme, for example, for
granted. They do not realize that an entire industry exists to produce instruments
people use try to understand and control the way these liquids, solutions and
suspensions behave. It is not an accident that each time you buy a specific brand
of hand creme that it feels exactly the same. The term 'rheology' encompasses
physical presence of things like in ceramic slurries. Describing a clay slip involves
talking about the fluidity, the nature of the way it flows and resists changes in
movement, its viscosity and its specific gravity. Once you understand the rheology
of the slip you use you can take any sample, do some measurements and say
exactly what needs to be done to bring its properties back into line. Ceramic
slurries for use in casting are fragile entities, they flow and work the way they do
as a result of a finely tuned recipe and mixing process and small changes can
render them useless or difficult-to-use. There is thus compelling reason to study
this more closely.
The Magic of Deflocculation

While a plastic pottery clay might have 21% water, a slurry made from the same
material may need 60% water! As you can imagine, such a mixture would be
unworkable in a mold. Not only would the mixture settle and the fluid level drop
drastically during casting, but molds would become waterlogged quickly and
excessive shrinkage would result in splitting ware before release from the mold.
Obviously a way is needed to minimize the water content of the slurry. Certain
electrolytes like sodium silicate (materials that can supply sodium ions or charged
particles) exhibit the remarkable property of turning a thick, viscous clay-water
mixture into one so thin that it runs like water. This has to be seen to be believed.
Imagine putting a powerful propeller mixer into a bucket of water and adding dry
clay until the slurry turns to mud so thick it will no longer agitate. The addition of a
few drops of electrolyte will instantly transform it back to a water-like consistency!
You can add clay till it is too thick and do it again, and again. The amount of dry
material that can be mixed into a small amount of water is truly remarkable to
anyone accustomed to using plastic clay. In fact, it is possible to produce a
pourable slip with only a little more water than it takes to make a clay suitable for
plastic modeling and shaping.
Unfortunately a different amount of deflocculant and water are needed to produce

an optimal slurry for different recipes and even different water supplies. The
question you are probably wondering is: How does one know how much
electrolyte, water, and clay to use? As a general rule, most clay based slips can be
deflocculated to have excellent fluidity yet have a specific gravity as high as 1.8. A
specific gravity of 1.8 means that the slurry is almost twice as heavy as water. First
time slip mixers are often surprised at the weight of the slip. Beginners often find
that targeting 1.75 at the start is best. Then, as they become more familiar with the
process, they can reduce water to take it higher. Whenever there is any kind of
problem with a clay slurry an engineers first question is almost always “What is the
specific gravity”? The specific gravity is thus the 'level playing field' of the ceramic
slip casting process.
The manner in which the 1.8 target was determined helps explain the relationship
between the viscosity of the slurry and its specific gravity. Imagine starting with a
pail of water, inserting your variable speed propeller mixer and adding clay until the
slurry becomes too thick. You would then add a few drops of deflocculant to thin it
and add more clay. However on the third cycle you would notice that it did not take
as much clay before becoming too thick mix again and that as the slip becomes
heavier and heavier (I mean heavier by weight) the mixer has to work harder and
harder to pull a whirlpool downward. Also bubbles within the mix rising and
breaking at the surface do so less and less easily. After each add-clay:add-
deflocculant cycle you would increase the mixer speed enough to pull a whirlpool
but not so fast as to pull air bubbles into the mix. As it gets heavier you will note
that as the entire slip mass is in motion during mixing it looks very smooth and can
appear almost motionless. When you reach the stage at which a small addition of
deflocculant does not cause the whirlpool to pull deeper the slurry has reached its
density limit. Remarkably most ceramic slurries hit this limit right around 1.8 (other
slurries like alumina or zircon can be taken to a much higher specific gravity).
An interesting point to remember here is that the amount of deflocculant is key to

both the specific gravity and the viscosity. However it is not generally viewed this
way. It is the proportions of water and clay that determine the specific gravity, the
deflocculant is simply there to make it possible to mix them in the desired
proportions. However the final fluidity of the slurry is 'fine tuned' by the
deflocculant, thus there is a direct relationship between its amount and the
viscosity. In other words, small changes in the amount of deflocculant cause
changes in the viscosity. It is important to realize that the same is not true of
specific gravity (changing the amount of deflocculant in a slurry has no measurable
effect on its specific gravity).
Now I am going to tell you something that it sometimes takes many years to learn:
The viscosity:deflocculant relationship comes clearly into focus when one realizes
that it is not actually desirable to optimize a slip to the highest possible specific
gravity or even to the lowest possible viscosity for a given specific gravity.
Professionals learn that it is better to maintain the slurry in a state of 'controlled
flocculation'', that is, stop short of full fluidity. Why? Because such a slurry is less
likely to settle out. If you stop too far short of full deflocculation the slurry will gel
after sitting for a few minutes (it is actually possible to make a slip that appears to
pour well and then have it gel so severely in an open mold that you can turn it
upside down and it does not run out). The real trick is to deflocculate slip such that
it gels after an hour or so. The gelling prevents it from settling out no matter how
long it sits.
An important and easy-to-overlook point is power mixing. Obviously, slip should be

mixed for an adequate amount of time to stabilize it. If a slip's flow properties
change over time, inadequate mixing is a possible reason. How much time should it
be mixed? Hours. Hours using a good mixer that can put a lot of energy into the
slurry. In industry it is not unusual to mix 12 hours or more, and the big powerful
mixers they use heat the slip until it is very warm to the touch! But there is another
important factor to consider here: Warm still flows better, alot better, than cold slip.
So if you fine tune the viscosity using deflocculants based on the properties of
warm slip, then when it cools it is not going to flow enough.
As we can see from this, the specific gravity and fluidity (or viscosity) of the slurry
are the two principle properties to understand. Most casting problems (and
successes) can be traced to confusion and misunderstanding these two properties.
My experience is that even some clay slip suppliers incorrectly document them in
their instruction booklets! By careful control of these properties you can maintain
slip consistency despite variables like changing water supply, temperature, mixing
time and integrity, water content of powders, evaporation from the tank, and
additions of dry and leather hard scrap. Yes, you will have a good measure of
control over your casting slip if you know how to measure the aforementioned
properties. You should be able to say; "Show me the slip and I’ll measure its
specific gravity and viscosity and tell you if it is right and if it is not I will tell you how
to fix it". Let’s review what these are and how to measure each. Inexpensive
devices for measuring specific gravity and viscosity are included in the Lehman
Slip Testing Kit, it available from many suppliers (Lehman is a longtime
manufacturer of slip mixing machines, tables, and pumps). However you can also
make your own testing devices.
Specific Gravity
Specific gravity is defined as the comparison of a liquid’s weight with the weight of
an equal volume of water. In other words it is the weight per unit of volume of the
slip. In metric it is simple: water weighs one gram per cc (ccs and milliliters are the
same). If a slurry weighs 1.8 grams per cc, then it has a specific gravity of 1.8; it is
1.8 times heavier than water. A slip with a specific gravity that is too high is said to
be "heavy" (the more water in a slip, the lower its specific gravity will be, the more
solids, the higher it will be). As mentioned, slip with too much water will soak the
molds more quickly, give slow casts, and result in excessive shrinkage that
contributes to splits in the ware.
Measuring Specific Gravity:

You must have a reliable way to measure specific gravity. In fact, it is good to have
two ways to measure it so you can confirm measurements that appear unusual.
Here are two ways to do it:
Use a hydrometer
This is a closed glass tube that is weighted with lead at one end so that it floats
vertically. Readings are taken on the scale up the side at the liquid surface.
The higher the specific gravity, the higher the hydrometer floats. However, one
problem with this instrument is that thick slips tend to impede free floating and
give an incorrect reading. In fact, my opinion is that in many situations a
hydrometer is practically useless for this reason! In addition, hydrometers
having too large of a range are often used and it gets a bit like reading
seconds on the hour hand of a clock.
Use a scale
Here, you weigh a known volume and divide the weight by that volume. For
example, if 10 cc’s weighs 17 grams, then 17/10=1.7.
Quick and easy way: Counterbalance a 60 cc veterinarian’s syringe, then

draw up a specific volume of slip (I draw up 50 cc), weigh it, and divide the
weight by the number of cc’s. Don’t get sloppy on this measurement. Do it
several times to make sure you get the same reading every time. Check its
accuracy using water (which should of course of a specific gravity of 1.0). I
have found that on the syringe I use I have to draw up some slip and expel it to
fill up the end before counterbalancing it for more accuracy.
Accurate way: Counterbalance a large graduated cylinder or a measuring cup
(having clear and crisp line markings) on a level scale accurate to within a
gram (taller narrower containers are better). Fill it to at least the 300 gram mark
and record the weight of the water. Then fill it will slip to the same level and
divide the weight of the slip by the weight of the water.
Some slip suppliers quote specific gravity in ounces per pint (i.e. 29 oz/pt),
however, this measure is not intuitive in my opinion. The British and US pints are
not the same size and this method does not relate well to the weight of water.
Avoid it, do it right and use grams per cc. Also, if you are mixing a large tank of slip,
use the most accurate method possible. If someone tells you that a problem slip
has a specific gravity of x, ask them how they measured that.
Viscosity
Viscosity refers to the mobility of the slip; its "thickness" or "runniness". A slip that
has high viscosity is thick like syrup and one that has low viscosity is fluid. A
deflocculant is used to lower the viscosity of a slip (provided of course that the slip
does not have so high a solids content that a deflocculant simply cannot thin it any
more). A slip with a viscosity that is too high is said to be "thick".
Measuring Viscosity
The 60 cc veterinarian’s syringe is also an effective tool for measuring this
property. To work properly it needs to have a large diameter needle insert (e.g. 3
mm). Pull out the needle and time how long it takes the slip to run out from the 60
cc mark to the 10 cc mark. Calibrate the test on a sample of slip that performs well.
A viscometer also comes with the Lehman Slip Test Kit. http://lagunaclay.com sells
a combination viscometer/specific gravity checker with a page of instructions.
The following two statements are important and if you understand them you are
ready for action:
1. For any given viscosity there can be a whole range of possible specific gravities
depending on water content.
2. For a given specific gravity a slip can have many different viscosities depending
on deflocculant content.
The most common method of preparation is to achieve the specific gravity first
using the minimum needed deflocculant, then fine-tune the viscosity using a little
more of the same deflocculant. Normally, beginners should try to achieve a specific
gravity of 1.75, while experts will be able to work comfortably at 1.8 for many body
types.
Various typical recipes for standard low-temperature whiteware and porcelain slips
call for differing amounts of water. This underscores the importance of being able
to measure specific gravity and viscosity. Below, I have provided some guidelines
on mixing a slip. The first few times you mix a new recipe concentrate on creating a
workable process and figuring out optimal amounts of water and deflocculant. After
this, a period of fine tuning will perfect a process that can be committed to paper
for repeating on a routine basis. However be ready to adjust things for different
times of the year, different materials batches, for reprocessing scrap, etc. The
notes to follow thus refer to the early stages of learning to mix a particular slip
recipe.
Thixotrophy
Thixotropy refers to changes in a slips runniness or viscosity over moments,
minutes or hours of time. Or, it refers to differences in the way the slip responds to
stimuli to make it move once it has become motionless for varying amounts of time.
Thixotropy thus involves time and interparticle reactions that happen in steady
state slurries. This is a simplistic and incomplete description of the phenomena but
for our purposes I use the term to embody the idea that slip should gel after sitting
for a half hour or so. As discussed above, you want to achieve a state of controlled
flocculation, a compromise between a fluid slip and one that will gel and therefore
no settle out. This involves first thorough mixing (putting energy into it) to get a
slurry to a state of equilibrium where its viscosity and thixotropic behavior are
stable. Then it involves carefully noting the specific gravity and viscosity and flow
behavior of the slurry and determining if slightly more or less deflocculant would be
better. Obviously you cannot add less deflocculant, thus you would have to add
water and powder body mix if deflocculant levels are too high.
Clay Deflocculants
Although the chemistry and physics of how they work is quite complex, for now just
think of a deflocculant as a source of ions that charge clay particles to repel each
other electrostatically and thus produce a slurry that is thinner than it would
otherwise be. Manufacturers and suppliers generally compare their products to the
standard solium silicate:soda ash mix and many products are quite well
documented. The products mentioned below (obviously an incomplete list) are
simply a summary of my own personal experience.
Soda Ash &Sodium Silicate: Sodium silicate is a liquid deflocculant that has
been the standard for many years. Powdered soda ash is a ‘slip softener’ and
produces protective colloids to deal with the anti-deflocculant effects of organic
materials in the clays. These two materials work well together. Many technicians
still refuse to use anything else and dispute claims that sodium silicate is
responsible for clogging up mold pours and degrading performance, they say that if
you can minimize the amount of sodium silicate to as close to 0.2% as possible
using continuous and long mixing times that mold degradation in minimual.
Darvan No. 7, Allied Colloids #311: These are examples of more modern sodium
polyacrylate dispersants, and manufacturers compare them with sodium silicate
making the following claims:
Lower minimum viscosity can be achieved and maintained longer.

They produce a slip with a faster casting rate at minimum viscosity.
They have a flatter over-deflocculation curve, that is, putting in too much is not
as serious.
They encourage a higher green strength, allowing removal from the mold at
higher water content.
Amounts of 0.3 to 0.5% are required, which is more than sodium silicate.
They afford better absorption and penetration into plaster.
They produce little or no efflorescence on molds (build-up of fuzzy salt
deposits) because the sodium ion is tied up in the organic deflocculant and will
not exchange places with the calcium ion in the plaster (as with soda ash and
sodium silicate).
Less silica remains in the pore structure of the plaster.
A Sample Slip Mixing Procedure

Measure about 90% of the predicted amount of water into a container. You can
predict the amount using an existing water:powder:electrolyte recipe as a
starting point. If possible use distilled or RO water, since these do not have
variable electrolyte contents that can affect slip consistency. Add the soda ash
(if applicable) and mix a few minutes to dissolve it.
Add all but 80% of the predicted deflocculant amount and mix.
Add all of the powder slowly and mix till all lumps disappear and the slip is
smooth. If you reach a point where the mix is too thick to add more powder, add
some more of the deflocculant to thin it. You can tell if the deflocculant addition
has been effective by noting if the slip gets thinner. This can be done by taking
a viscometer reading or carefully watching the mixer whirlpool to see if it
deepens.
After the predicted amount of clay has been added to the water, measure the
specific gravity. If it is too low, add more clay mix and thin using more
deflocculant if needed. If you overshoot the specific gravity, thin with water.
Finally, keep adding deflocculant and measuring the viscosity until small
amounts no longer make a difference. Record the amounts of water, clay, and
deflocculants used and next time, stop short of the thinnest mix to achieve a
state of controlled flocculation.
Casting Tests
Casting speed and ease of mold release are important factors in a casting
operation. If you have a mold drier and make small items it should be possible to fill
the molds many times each day. It is a very good idea to have a rating system so
that you can take a sample of slip and compare its performance to the past. Make
a small mold of a cone shape and keep it dry and replace often. To test leave the
slurry in it for a set amount of time (e.g. 2 minutes). As soon as the liquidous state
of the slip layer has disappeared, use a sharp knife to trim a clean line around the
lip down to the plaster. Put the piece upside down on blocks and measure how
long it takes until the piece falls out. When dry, measure the average thickness of
the walls. This will give you a good measure of casting time and thickness buildup.
A Good Mixer is Very Important

You need a good propeller mixer to mix slip properly. Slips should be mixed for
hours so you need a mount and a mixer that is not going to over heat (an electric
drill cannot possibly do this, they are designed to be run for a few seconds at a
time). Good mixers are expensive, a small commercial one starts at about $500-
$750! Thus you might consider watching for a bargain at an auction sale or on the
internet. At Ebay.com, for example, searching for 'lab mixer' or 'duty mixer' should
turn up something. Heavy duty mixers are used in so many industries and are thus
a common item. It is important to have a unit that can run for many hours, has
variable speeds (so as to avoid mixing air bubbles into the slip by pulling a deep
whirlpool(, and is powerful enough to keep the whole mass in constant motion
without overheating. A lot of science goes into selecting a propeller adapted each
type of liquid. It have found that the standard three or four narrow blade type works
well.
Mixing Time
Mix the slip for several hours for best results. It is only
by putting energy into the slurry that you can
thoroughly wet every particle and extract the best
performance. Less deflocculant may be necessary if
the slip is mixed for a longer period. This is an
advantage because some deflocculants, like sodium
silicate, attack your molds and the less that you use,
the better. After the slip stands overnight and is mixed
for a few minutes the next day, it will usually cast
better.
More About Controlled Flocculation

Ideally, a slip should be adjusted to a state of
"controlled flocculation" where it is fluid, yet the finer
particles remain agglomerated somewhat. Quality
slips are intentionally less fluid than they could be. In
Propeller mixing
a totally deflocculated slip the particles are so free to
a clay slurry
move that they can settle out in a very hard layer.
During a cast, the smaller ones will be drawn toward
the mold surface causing differences in particle size distribution and drying
shrinkage across the thickness of the clay wall, this can result in drying cracks. In
thin slips poor mold release can also occur because the fine clay is able to
penetrate very small recesses in the mold surface and "hold on", resisting release.
If you have these problems, vinegar can be added to a slip to flocculate it a little (it
is quite remarkable to see what a cap full of vinegar will do for a bucket of settling
slip). If a slurry is in just the right state, it should gel slightly while standing for an
hour or two, this holds all particles in suspension nicely. Re-mixing will loosen it
and the slip should flow freely again.
Clays That Do Not Deflocculate

Do not assume that any clay recipe will respond to deflocculants. There are many
clays that contain soluble salts that impede or totally block their electrolytic action.
Slurries of these materials simply gel immediately or over time. This problem is
most likely with fire clay, stoneware or earthenware sedimentary type clays, the
vast majority of kaolins and ball clays will deflocculate normally.
Trouble Shooting
No matter what the problem with the slip is, your first question should always be:
"What is the specific gravity"? Until you know this and know it reliably, you cannot
fix the problem. For difficult slips be content with a specific gravity of 1.75 to solve
problems in the short term. Target 1.78 when you are confident and have a body of
experience.
Recognizing Under Deflocculation

If the slip is gelling after a few minutes or hanging motionless near the sides of the
container while mixing, more deflocculant is probably needed. Be careful not to add
too much; this is a common mistake (you will have to make more of the powder mix
and add it, and more water, to counterbalance the oversupply of deflocculant). It is
thus best to err on the side of under rather than over deflocculation when mixing a
new batch.
If the slip has not thinned after an addition of deflocculant, then there is already
enough present. An easy way to tell if a slip thins is to use a good mixer and watch
the depth of the whirlpool. Set the speed so that there is a moderately deep vortex
but (not quite deep enough to suck air into the mix). Add a little deflocculant and
watch if the vortex deepens. Sometimes a very small addition of water will thin a
troublesome slip dramatically, take advantage of this and don't struggle to work
with a slip of high specific gravity if a slightly lower value is much better.
Recognizing Over Deflocculation

If the slip does not gel at all or settles out in a layer on the bottom of the container
then there is too much deflocculant. Too much deflocculant is also indicated by a
thin slow cast, a wavy and gritty looking inner surface after draining, rapid
formation of a skin on the slip after the mixer is stopped, poor mold release,
splitting and cracking of the ware during drying and brittle ware. It is quite amazing
how poorly over-deflocculated slip can perform and it is not unusual to see people
falsely blame the problem on changes in body ingredients or on the body recipe.
Over-deflocculation is a phenomenon independent of specific gravity, a slip of 1.7
or even 1.85 or higher can be over-deflocculated. Also, you might feel that
because your slurry does not have some or all of the problems mentioned above it
is OK, but this is not true. The solids in an over-deflocculated slurry of 1.7 may
settle out as it stands whereas this may not happen if the slurry has been taken
over 1.8. I have seen a very fluid slurry of 1.87 that did not settle, yet exhibited
serious skin formation and very poor casting. Because the slurry was very fluid, it
seemed counter intuitive that it needed alot of water and less deflocculant, but
when the specific gravity was correctly measured this became evident. This again
underscores the key point: make sure your slurry has your target specific gravity
(1.78 for example) and then judge what to do with it after that is achieved.
Reprocessing Scrap
Incredible as it may sound there are actually people and companies who do not mix
scrap clay back into new batches. This is invariably because of bad experiences
resulting from not understanding how to maintain slip rheology. Scrap clay already
has deflocculant in it, thus it seems logical that it should be possible to adjust only
the water content to accomodate it. Actually this is not true. For whatever reason
you invariably have to make adjustments in deflocculant amount also. The bottom
line is that you need to understand the things explained on this page so that you
can test any slip and determine what needs to be done to adjust it. With this ability
you can add any amount of scrap and still have an optimal casting slip.
Recognizing Clay Recipe Problems

Even if you achieve an optimum slurry, it will not necessarily cast well if the clay
recipe itself is not right. Recipes that contain a lot of fine clay minerals (i.e. ball
clay, bentonite) will cast slowly because the clay is excessively impermeable to the
passage of water and ware will resist release from the mold (although ceramic slip
with its 50% typical ball clay is an exception because the high talc in the recipe
helps vent the water). High clay formulations will produce ware that will shrink
more and crack more. Recipes that have inadequate clay or clays of very low
plasticity will shrink too little and will not release from the mold very well. They will
produce fragile ware that fractures when being removed from the mold or during
handling.
If you would like to formulate your own casting body (e.g. A terra cotta, a
stoneware, a porcelain) it is obvious that decisions you make about its makeup will
affect the way in which it performs during the process. As already noted, casting
body recipes look very different than plastic bodies. This process enables you to
make use of cleaner materials not suited to plastic bodies and you can discontinue
the use of problematic materials. I have written an article specifically about this
called “Understanding Slip Casting Body Recipes”.
By Tony Hansen
Out Bound Links

(Materials) Redart - Red Firing Earthenware

Red Art
(Materials) Sodium Silicate - Na2SiO3 - Na2SiO3 Deflocculant, De-flocculant
Waterglass
(Materials) Darvan - Polymer deflocculant, de-flocculant
Darvan 811, Darvan No. 7, Darvan 821A, Darvan C
(Properties) Deflocculant
(Articles)
Stoneware Casting Body Recipes
Some starting recipes for stoneware and porcelain with information on how to adjust and
adapt them
(Glossary) Deflocculate, deflocculation, deflocculant

The process of making a clay slurry that would oth...
In Bound Links
(Articles)
Understanding the Terra Cotta Slip Casting Recipes In North America
This article helps you understand a good recipe for a red casting body so that you will have
control...
(Articles)
Low Fire White Talc Casting Body Recipe
The classic white ball clay talc casting and modelling recipe has been used for many years.
It is a ...
(Project) Troubleshooting Ceramic Process Problems and Links

It important to be in control of your process and ...
(Glossary) Casting, Slip Casting

Forming pottery by pouring deflocculated (water re...
(Tests) RHEO - Rheology of a Ceramic Slurry

(Articles)
Deflocculants: A Detailed Overview
A detailed look and what deflocculation is, what the most common types of deflocculants
are (there a...
Pictures
A veterinarian hypodermic syringe, notice the large diameter end that enables slip
to freely flow
Click for 130% larger
A hydrometer being used to check the specific gravity of a ceramic slurry. In this
case the slurry was too heavy, almost 1.9, yet very fluid. Thus it has both too much
clay and too much deflocculant.
An example of how an over deflocculated ceramic slurry forms a skin a few

minutes after the mixer is stopped.
Feedback, Suggestions
Your email address
Subject
Feedback at understanding_the_deflocculation_process_in_slip_casting_213.html
Your Name
Message
Send Message
Copyright 2003, 2008 http://digitalfire.com, All

INSIGHT
Rights Reserved is ceramic
chemistry
calculation
software
that runs
on
Windows,
Mac and
Linux and
talks
to this
web site.
()

Tony Hansen, - Understanding The Deflocculation Process in Slip Casting, - Digitalfire Corporation, 2008

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Tony Hansen, - Understanding The Deflocculation Process in Slip Casting, - Digitalfire Corporation, 2008

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tony Hansen, - Understanding The Deflocculation Process in Slip Casting, - Digitalfire Corporation, 2008

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

3/19/2014 digitalfire.com/4sight/education/understanding_the_deflocculation_process_in_slip_casting_213.

Description Watch the video, learn

Understanding Slip Rheology

The Magic of Deflocculation

Unfortunately a different amount of deflocculant and water are needed to produce

An interesting point to remember here is that the amount of deflocculant is key to

An important and easy-to-overlook point is power mixing. Obviously, slip should be

Measuring Specific Gravity:

Quick and easy way: Counterbalance a 60 cc veterinarian’s syringe, then

Lower minimum viscosity can be achieved and maintained longer.

A Sample Slip Mixing Procedure

A Good Mixer is Very Important

More About Controlled Flocculation

Clays That Do Not Deflocculate

Recognizing Under Deflocculation

Recognizing Over Deflocculation

Recognizing Clay Recipe Problems

Out Bound Links

(Materials) Redart - Red Firing Earthenware

(Glossary) Deflocculate, deflocculation, deflocculant

(Project) Troubleshooting Ceramic Process Problems and Links

(Glossary) Casting, Slip Casting

(Tests) RHEO - Rheology of a Ceramic Slurry

Click for 130% larger

Click for 600% larger

An example of how an over deflocculated ceramic slurry forms a skin a few

Click for 386% larger

Copyright 2003, 2008 http://digitalfire.com, All

You might also like