Md.

Sanowar Hossain
Lecturer
Dept. of ME, RUET

6/29/2021 1
 Ceramics
An inorganic compound consisting of a metal
(or semi-metal) and one or more nonmetals
Examples:
Silica - silicon dioxide (SiO2), the main
ingredient in most glass products
Alumina - aluminum oxide (Al2O3), used in
various applications from abrasives to
artificial bones
More complex compounds such as hydrous
aluminum silicate (Al2Si2O5(OH)4), the main
ingredient in most clay products
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 Ceramics

• One of the largest groups of materials with the

properties of nonmetals and all are made by
firing or burning, often including silicates and
metal oxides.
• Greek term Keramos, meaning "a potter" or
"pottery”.

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 Ceramic Bonding -

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 Properties of Ceramic Materials-

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 Properties of Ceramic Materials-

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 Properties of Ceramic Materials

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 Properties of Ceramic Materials

• High hardness, electrical and thermal insulating,

chemical stability, and high melting temperatures

• Brittle, virtually no ductility - can cause problems

in both processing and performance of ceramic
products

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 Processing of Ceramics-
1.Slip Casting-

• A suspension of ceramic powders in water, called a slip, is poured

into a porous plaster of paris mold, so that water from the mix is
absorbed into the plaster to form a firm layer of clay at the mold
surface .
•The slip composition is 25% to 40% water

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Figure - Sequence of steps in drain casting, a form of slip
casting:
(1) slip is poured into mold cavity,
(2) water is absorbed into plaster mold to form a firm layer,
(3) excess slip is poured out, and
(4) part is removed from mold and trimmed

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2.Drying and Firing -

• Drying: as water is removed - interparticle spacings

decrease
– shrinkage .

wet body partially dry completely dry

Drying too fast causes sample to warp or crack due to non-uniform
shrinkage
• Firing:
-- heat treatment between
900-1400ºC
-- vitrification: liquid glass
forms from clay and flux –
flows
between SiO2 particles.
(Flux lowers melting
temperature).
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 3. Hydroplastic forming:-

• Mill (grind) and screen constituents: desired particle

size
Ao

container
die holder

billet extrusion A
force ram d

container die

• Dry and fire the formed

piece

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 4. Powder Pressing:

used for both clay and non-clay compositions.

• Powder (plus binder) compacted by pressure in a

mold
-- Uniaxial compression - compacted in single
direction
-- Isostatic (hydrostatic) compression - pressure
applied by fluid - powder in rubber envelope
-- Hot pressing - pressure + heat

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 Ceramic Products

• Clay construction products - bricks, clay pipe, and building tile ,cement
concrete
• Refractory ceramics - ceramics capable of high temperature applications
such as furnace walls, crucibles, and molds
• White ware products - stoneware, fine china, porcelain, and other
tableware, based on mixtures of clay and other minerals
• Glass - bottles, glasses, lenses, window pane, and light bulbs
• Glass fibers - thermal insulating wool, reinforced plastics (fiberglass), and
fiber optics communications lines
• Abrasives - aluminum oxide and silicon carbide
• Cutting tool materials - tungsten carbide, aluminum oxide, and cubic
boron nitride

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• Ceramic insulators - applications include
electrical transmission components, spark plugs,
and microelectronic chip substrates
• Magnetic ceramics – example: computer
memories
• Nuclear fuels based on uranium oxide (UO2)
• Bioceramics - artificial teeth and bones
• Kenneth g. budinski
•6/29/2021
Michael k. budinski 16
 Ceramic Materials-
Applications
Clay – Shaped, dried, and fired
inorganic material
Examples: Brick, tile, sewer pipe,
chimney flue, china, porcelain, etc.

Refractory – Designed to provide

acceptable mechanical or chemical
properties while at high temperatures
Example: Space shuttle all-silica
insulating tiles

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 Applications of Ceramic Materials

Electrical
Resistors – Create desired voltage drops
and limit current
Thermistors – Application of
heat regulates current flow
Rectifiers – Allow current to
flow in one direction

Heating elements for furnaces

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• Alumina(Al2O3) is used as insulators in spark
plug and electronic packaging, rocket nozzles
etc.

• Tungsten carbide and Titanium carbide along with

metal binders like Ni, Co, Cr, Mo are known as
cermets which are used as cutting tool materials.

• Tungsten carbide is used as an abrasive material for

grinding and polishing operations

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 Typical Applications of Ceramics

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Ceramic materials are attractive
for several reasons :
 Cheap in terms of its starting materials.
Compared to metals, lightweight and retain
their strength up to 1000˚C where metals
tends to fail.
They have electrical, optical, and
magnetic properties of value in the
computer and electronic industries.

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 History
The art of making pottery by forming and
burning clay has been practiced from the earliest
civilizations.
Burnt clayware has been found dating from
about 15,000 B.C. and as well developed as
an industrial product in Egypt by about 5000
B.C.
 Formed glass dates from the period
7000-5000 B.C. and was a stable industry in
Egypt by about 1500 B.C.
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 Ceramics Industry
An important characteristic of the
ceramics industry is that it is basic to the
successful operation of many other
industries.
In the Philippines, smuggled ceramics has
cause severe effect on the ceramic
industry locally. But exporting of ceramic
materials is significantly increasing.

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 Uses of Ceramics
The ceramics industry is divided in the manufacture
of the ff. products:
 Structural Clay Products
 Whitewares
 Refractories
 Glasses
 Abrasives
 Cements
 Advance Ceramics
-Structural
-Electrical
-Coating

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 Classifications of the
Ceramics
Traditional Ceramics
New Ceramics

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 Ceramic Tile Processes
Ball Milling
Raw Mat. Weighing

Powder Spray Dry

Vibrating
Storage Screen and
(SILO) HomoTank

Dry Pressing Horizontal

Glazing
Dryer

Silk Screen
Roller Heart Kiln Printing

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 Raw Materials
The traditional ceramics industry is largely
based on various combinations of clay
minerals, feldspar and silica.
The mineral raw materials used in the
ceramic industry are mainly inorganic,
nonmetallic, crystalline solids formed by
complex geologic processes.

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 Raw Materials
Oxygen, silicon, and aluminum together
account for 90% of the elements in the
earth’s crust , These, together with other
minerals compounds of oxygen, constitute
the greatest bulk of naturally occurring
ceramic raw materials.

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 Raw Materials
Clay Minerals
Talc and Related
Minerals
Silica and Silicate
Silica
Minerals Talc
Feldspars and related
minerals.
Refractory Raw
Materials
Clay
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 Common Types of Clay
Kaolin or China Clay
Ball Clays
Fire Clays
Flint Clays
Pottery Clay
Shale
Vitrifying Clays
Brick Clays
Slip Clays
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 Important Characteristics of Clays
in Ceramic Bodies
Clays have the ability to form clay-
water composition and to maintain
their shape and strength during drying
and firing
They fuse over a temperature range
depending on their composition in such
a way as to become dense and strong
without losing their shape
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 Talc and Related Minerals
Talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate
which has a layer structure similar to that
of the clay minerals.
It is an important ceramic raw material for
the manufacture of electrical and
electronic components

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 Talc and Related Minerals
 Pyrophyllite
 Block talc
 Asbestos

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 Silica and Silicate Minerals
Silica is a major ingredient in glass,
glazes, enamels, refractories, abrasives,
and whiteware compositions.
It is widely used because it is
inexpensive, hard, chemically stable

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 Silica and Silicate Minerals
The major source of silica for the ceramic
industry is sandstone, consisting of lightly
bonded quartz grains.
The sand is frequently mined by loosening
the quarts grains with a stream of high-
pressure water.

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 Feldspars and Related Minerals
Feldspar are anhydrous aluminosilicates
containing K+, Na+, and Ca2.; they are
present in virtually all igneous rocks.
Most production comes from pegmatites
which are coarsely crystalline rock formed
in the later stages of crystallization of a
magma

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 Feldspars and Related Minerals
Nepheline syenite
Wollastonite
Sillimanite

Sillimanite

Nepheline syenite
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 Refractory Raw Materials
Alumina
Magnesia
Dolomite
Chrome Ore
Alumina Magnesia

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 Other Raw Materials
Soda ash
Borate minerals
Fluorspar
Phosphate minerals Flourspar
Abrasive raw Soda Ash

materials

Borate Minerals
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 Ball Milling
Spheres mixed with
the stock to be
comminuted are
rotated inside a large
cylindrical container.

These operations are

often carried out with
water

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 Ball Milling
Container

Stock

Drive rolls
Balls

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 Spray Dryer
Characterized by
atominization of a
solution or
suspension into
droplets, followed by
drying.

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 Spray Dryer

Particle Trajectory

Schematic Diagram of Spray Dryer

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 Dry Pressing

Forming of the
“greenware” tile body.
Non-clumping
granulates are
compressed in steel
dies designed
appropriately for the
part to be
manufactured.

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 Glazing
The application of glassy coatings on
ceramic wares to give them decorative
finishes and to make them impervious to
moisture

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 Roller Hearth Kiln
A roller tunnel kiln for firing a drying
refractory material advanced along the
refractory rotatable rollers includes an
upper section comprising a prefiring zone,
a firing zone, a first forced cooling zone, a
natural cooling zone and a second forced
cooling zone.

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 Roller Hearth Kiln

Gear system

Firing zone
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Entrance
 Traditional Ceramic Processes
A. Preparation of Raw Materials
• Crushing
Types of Equipments Used
a) Jaw Crushers
b) Gyratory Crushers
c) Roll Crushers
d) Hammer Mills

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 Crushing

Gyratory Crusher
Jaw Crusher

Hammer Mill
6/29/2021 Roll Crusher 49
 Traditional Ceramic Processes
• Grinding
Types of Equipments Used
a) Ball mill
b) Roller mill
c) Impact grinding

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 Grinding

Ball Mill Roller Mill Impact Grinding

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 Traditional Ceramic Processes
B. Shaping Processes
a) Slip Casting
1. Drain Casting
2. Solid Casting

b) Plastic Forming
1. Manual Forming
 Hand modeling
 Hand molding
 Hand throwing
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 Drain Casting

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 Traditional Ceramic Processes
1. Mechanized
 Jiggering
 Plastic pressing
 Extrusion

a) Semi-dry Pressing

c) Dry Pressing

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 Semidry Pressing

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 Traditional Ceramic Processes
A. Drying

C. Firing

E. Glazing

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 New Ceramic Processes
 Preparation of Raw Materials
 Freeze Drying
 Precipitation from solution

 Shaping
 Hot pressing
 Isostatic pressing
 Doctor-blade process
 Injection molding

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 New Ceramic Processes
 Sintering
To bond individual grains into a solid mass
To increase density
To reduce or eliminate porosity
 Finishing
 To increase dimensional accuracy
 To improve surface finish
 To make minor changes in part geometry

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 New Ceramic Processes

Doctor blade Process

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Factors Affecting Ceramic Process

 Oxidation
 Decomposition Reactions
 Phase Transformations
 Trapped Gases
 Non uniform Mixing
 Over firing
 Hot Pressing

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 Common Errors in Ceramic Process

 Firing Shrinkage
 Warping

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 Ceramic Crystal Structures-

Oxide structures:
1. Anions are larger than cations.
2. Close packed oxygen in a lattice
(usually FCC).
3. Cations fit into interstitial sites among
anions.

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 ABX3 Crystal Structures -

• Perovskite (calcium titanium

oxide) structure

Ex: complex oxide

Barium Titanate
(BaTiO3)

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 Silicate Ceramics -

• Most common elements on earth are Si

&O
Si4+

O2-

crystobalite
• SiO2 (silica) polymorphic forms are quartz,
crystobalite, & tridymite
• The strong Si-O bonds lead to a high melting
temperature (1710ºC) for this material
7

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 Glass Structure -

• Glass is noncrystalline (amorphous)

• Fused silica is SiO2 to which no
• Basic Unit:
impurities have been added
4-
Si0 4 tetrahedron • Other common glasses contain
Si 4+ impurity ions such as Na+, Ca2+,
O 2- Al3+, and B3+
Na +
• Quartz is crystalline
(soda glass)-
Si 4+
SiO2:
O 2-

Adapted from Fig. 12.11,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e. 8

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 Ceramics materials:
An organic compound which containing of metals and
one or more non-metals.
i.e. Al2O3 and pottery etc.
Types:-
Traditional ceramic
Advance ceramic
Glasses

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Traditional Ceramics:
Those ceramic which are composed of clay mineral
(porcelain) as well as cement and glass
Products:-
Traditional ceramic are include pottery ,brick and tiles etc.

Advance ceramics:
Those ceramic which are made by synthetically produced
from raw materials.
Product:-
Advance ceramic are include Al2O3 ,bio-ceramic etc.

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 Traditional Ceramics vs. new ceramics

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 Properties of Ceramic materials:-
These materials are insulator of heat and electricity and
more resistance to high temperature.
These materials are stronger than that of metals because of
their covalent and ionic bonding.
These materials are less density it means they are lighter
than metals.
The inability of slip of ceramic materials can cause more
difficult in the processing and performance.
Some oxide of ceramic show magnetic behaviors such as
Fe3O4.
 They are brittle materials.

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PROCESSING OF CERAMICS AND CERMETS

Processing of Traditional Ceramics

Processing of New Ceramics
Processing of Cermets
Product Design Considerations

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 Types of Ceramics and Their
Processing
Ceramic materials divide into three categories:
1. Traditional ceramics – particulate processing
2. New ceramics – particulate processing
3. Glasses – solidification processing
The solidification processes for glass are covered in a
different slide set
The particulate processes for traditional and new
ceramics as well as certain composite materials are
covered in this slide set

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Overview of Ceramics Particulate Processing

Traditional ceramics are made from minerals

occurring in nature.
Products include pottery, porcelain, bricks, and cement
New ceramics are made from synthetically produced
raw materials.
Products include cutting tools, artificial bones and
substrates for electronic circuits
The starting material for all of these items is powder

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 Overview of Ceramics Particulate
Processing - continued

For traditional ceramics, the powders are usually mixed

with water to temporarily bind the particles together and
achieve the proper consistency for shaping.
For new ceramics, substances other than water are used
as binders during shaping.
After shaping, the green parts are fired (sintered), whose
function is the same as in powder metallurgy:

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 Figure 17.1 - Usual steps in traditional ceramics processing: (1)
preparation of raw materials, (2) shaping, (3) drying, and (4) firing
Part (a) shows the work part during the sequence, while (b) shows the
condition of the powders

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 Preparation of the Raw Material
for Traditional Ceramics

Shaping processes for traditional ceramics require the

starting material to be a plastic paste
This paste is comprised of fine ceramic powders mixed with
water
The raw ceramic material usually occurs in nature as rocky
lumps, and reduction to powder is the purpose of the
preparation step in ceramics processing

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 Fabrication Techniques:

 First of all raw material usually have to go through

milling or grinding operation in which particle size
is reduced which is done by crusher such as jaw or
roll crusher.
The product of crusher is to screening to made
powder Product having desired shape of particle
size.
 The powdered product must be thoroughly mixed
with water to make plastic paste for creation of
traditional ceramic product.

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 Ingredients of Ceramic Paste for
Shaping
1. Clay (hydrous aluminum silicates) - usually the main
ingredient because of ideal forming characteristics
when mixed with water
2. Water – creates clay-water mixture with suitable
plasticity for shaping
3. Non-plastic raw materials, such as alumina and silica -
reduce shrinkage in drying and firing but also reduce
plasticity of the mixture during forming
4. Other ingredients, such as fluxes that melt (vitrify)
during firing and promote sintering, and wetting
agents to improve mixing of ingredients

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 Shaping Processes
Slip casting
The clay-water mixture is a slurry
Plastic forming methods
The clay is plastic
Semi-dry pressing
The clay is moist but has low plasticity
Dry pressing
The clay is basically dry (less than 5% water) and has
no plasticity

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 Figure: Four categories of shaping processes used for traditional
ceramics, compared to water content and pressure required to form the clay

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 Slip Casting
A suspension of ceramic powders in water, called a slip.
This slip is poured into a porous plaster of paris mold
so that water from the mix is absorbed into the plaster
to form a firm layer of clay at the mold surface
The slip composition is 25% to 40% water
Two principal variations:

Drain casting - the mold is inverted to drain excess slip

after a semi-solid layer has been formed, thus producing
a hollow product
Solid casting - to produce solid products, adequate
time is allowed for entire body to become firm .

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 Figure 17.5 - Sequence of steps in drain casting, a form of slip casting:
(1) slip is poured into mold cavity, (2) water is absorbed into plaster
mold to form a firm layer, (3) excess slip is poured out, and (4) part
is removed from mold and trimmed

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 Overview of Plastic Forming

The starting mixture must have a plastic

consistency, with 15% to 25%water
Variety of manual and mechanized methods
Manual methods use clay with more water because it is
more easilyformed
More water means greater shrinkage in drying
Mechanized methods generally use a mixture with
less water so starting clay is stiffer

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 Plastic Forming Methods

Hand modeling (manual method)

Jiggering (mechanized method)
Plastic pressing (mechanized method)
Extrusion (mechanized method)

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 Hand Modeling
Creation of the ceramic product by manipulating the
mass of plastic clay into the desired geometry
Hand molding - similar only a mold or form is used
to define portions of the part geometry
Hand throwing on a potter's wheel is another
refinement of handcraft methods
Potter's wheel = a round table that rotates on a
vertical spindle, powered either by motor or foot
operated treadle
Products of circular cross-section can be formed by
throwing and shaping the clay, sometimes using a
mold to provide the internal shape

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 Jiggering
Similar to potter's wheel methods, but hand throwing is
replaced by mechanized techniques

Figure 17.6 - Sequence in jiggering: (1) wet clay slug is placed on a convex
mold; (2) batting; and (3) a jigger tool imparts the final product shape

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 Plastic Pressing

Forming process in which a plastic clay slug is pressed

between upper and lower molds contained in metal rings
Molds are made of porous material such as gypsum, so
when a vacuum is drawn on the backs of the mold halves,
moisture is removed from the clay
The mold sections are then opened, using positive air
pressure to prevent sticking of the part in the mold
Advantages: higher production rate than jiggering and not
limited to radically symmetric parts

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 Extrusion
Compression of clay through a die orifice to produce long
sections of uniform cross-section, which are then cut to
required piece length
Equipment utilizes a screw type action to assist in
mixing the clay and pushing it through die opening
Products: hollow bricks, shaped tiles, drain pipes, tubes,
and insulators
Also used to make the starting clay slugs for other
ceramics processing methods such as jiggering and
plastic pressing

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 Semi-dry Pressing
Uses high pressure to overcome the clay’s low plasticity
and force it into a die cavity

Figure 17.7 - Semi-dry pressing: (1) depositing moist powder into die cavity,
(2) pressing, and (3) opening the die sections and ejection

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 Dry Pressing

Process sequence is similar to semi-dry pressing - the

main distinction is that the water content of the
starting mix is typically below 5%
Dies must be made of hardened tool steel or
cemented carbide to reduce wear since dry clay is very
abrasive
No drying shrinkage occurs, so drying time is
eliminated and good dimensional accuracy is
achieved in the final product
Typical products: bathroom tile, electrical insulators,
refractory brick, and other simple geometries

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 Clay Volume vs. Water Content

Water plays an important role in most of the

traditional ceramics shaping processes
Thereafter, it has no purpose and must be removed
from the clay piece before firing
Shrinkage is a problem during drying because
water contributes volume to the piece, and the
volume is reduced when it is removed

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 Figure 17.8 - Volume of
clay as a function of
water content
Relationship shown hereis
typical; it varies for
different clay
compositions

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 Drying
The drying process occurs in two stages:
Stage 1 - drying rate is rapid and constant as water
evaporates from the surface into the surrounding
air and water from the interior migrates by capillary
action to the surface to replace it
This is when shrinkage occurs, with the risk of
warping and cracking
Stage 2 - the moisture content has been reduced to
where the ceramic grains are in contact
Little or no further shrinkage occurs

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Figure 17.9 - Typical drying rate curve and associated volume reduction
(drying shrinkage) for a ceramic body in drying
Drying rate in the second stage of drying is depicted here as a straight line;
the function is sometimes concave or convex

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 Firing of Traditional Ceramics
Heat treatment process that sinters the ceramic
material
Performed in a furnace called a kiln
Bonds are developed between the ceramic grains,
and this is accompanied by densification and
reduction of porosity
Therefore, additional shrinkage occurs in the
polycrystalline material in addition to that which
has already occurred in drying
In the firing of traditional ceramics, a glassy phase
forms among the crystals which acts as a binder
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 Glazing
Application of a ceramic surface coating to make the
piece more impervious to water and enhance its
appearance
The usual processing sequence with glazed ware
is:
1. Fire the piece once before glazing to harden the
body of the piece
2. Apply the glaze
3. Fire the piece a second time to harden the glaze

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 Processing of New Ceramics

The manufacturing sequence for the new

ceramics can be summarized in the following
steps:
1. Preparation of starting materials
2. Shaping
3. Sintering
4. Finishing
While the sequence is nearly the same as for the
traditional ceramics, the details are often quite
different

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 Preparation of Starting Materials

Strength requirements are usually much greater for new

ceramics than for traditional ceramics.
Therefore, the starting powders must be smaller and
more uniform in size and composition, since the
strength of the resulting ceramic product is inversely
related to grain size.
Greater control of the starting powders is required.
Powder preparation includes mechanical and
chemical methods.

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 Shaping of New Ceramics

Many of the shaping processes for new ceramics are

borrowed from powder metallurgy (PM) and
traditional ceramics
PM press and sinter methods have been adapted to the
new ceramic materials
And some of the traditional ceramics forming
techniques are used to shape the new ceramics,
such as: slip casting, extrusion, and dry pressing
etc.
The processes described here are not normally
associated with the forming of traditional ceramics,
although several are associated with PM.

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 Hot Pressing

Similar to dry pressing except it is carried out at elevated

temperatures so sintering of the product is accomplished
simultaneously with pressing.

This eliminates the need for a separate firing step.

Higher densities and finer grain size are obtained, but
die life is reduced by the hot abrasive particles against
the die surfaces.

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 Isostatic Pressing

Uses hydrostatic pressure to compact the ceramic

powders from all directions

Avoids the problem of non-uniform density in the final

product that is often observed in conventional
uniaxial pressing

Same process used in powder metallurgy.

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 Powder Injection Molding (PIM)

Ceramic particles are mixed with a thermoplastic polymer,

then heated and injected into a mold cavity

The polymer acts as a carrier and provides flow characteristics

for molding.
Upon cooling which hardens the polymer, the mold is opened
and the part is removed.
Because temperatures needed to plasticize the carrier are
much lower than those required for sintering the ceramic,
the piece is green after molding.
The plastic binder is removed and the remaining
ceramic part is sintered.

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 Sintering of New Ceramics
Since the plasticity needed to shape the new
ceramics is not normally based on water, the
drying step required for traditional green ceramics
can be omitted for most new ceramic products.
The sintering step is still very much required
Functions of sintering are the same as before:
1. Bond individual grains into a solid mass
2. Increase density
3. Reduce or eliminate porosity

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Finishing Operations for New Ceramics

Parts made of new ceramics sometimes require

finishing, which has one or more of the following
purposes:
1. Increase dimensional accuracy
2. Improve surface finish
3. Make minor changes in part geometry
Finishing usually involves abrasive processes
Diamond abrasives must be used to cut the
hardened ceramic materials

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Introduction:

The metallic and nonmetallic materials are not suitable for certain engineering
applications- for example

 an electrical insulator to be used at high temperature

 floor tiles to resist spills, scuffing and abrasion

 a transparent baking dish

For such applications we need materials that have properties such as high
temperature strength; hardness; inertness to chemicals, food; resistance to wear and
corrosion. Few of such materials are ceramics, glass, graphite, diamond etc.

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For purposes of organization, we classify ceramic materials into

three basic types:
(1) traditional ceramics—silicates used for clay products such as
pottery and bricks, common abrasives, and cement

(2) new ceramics—more recently developed ceramics based on

nonsilicates such as oxides and carbides, and generally possessing
mechanical or physical properties that are superior or unique compared
to traditional ceramics; and

(3) glasses—based primarily on silica and distinguished from the

other ceramics by their noncrystalline structure.

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Ceramics :

 Ceramics are compound of metallic and non metallic elements.

 The word ceramic traces from the Greek keramos meaning potter’s clay and
keramikos meaning clay products.
 Among the oldest of the raw materials used for making ceramics is clay. The
most commonly given example is kaolin (from Kao-ling, a hill in China)

 Other major raw materials for ceramics that are found in nature are flint (a
rock composed of very fine-grained silica, SiO2 and feldspar ( a group of
crystalline minerals consisting of aluminum silicates plus potassium, calcium
or sodium)

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Shaping Ceramics:

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Preparation ofPowders:

(Adapted from Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing M. P. Groover)

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(Adapted from Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing M. P. Groover)

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Shaping Processes:

The shaping processes can be divided according to the consistency of the

mixture:
(1) slip casting, in which the mixture is a slurry with 25% to 40% water;
(2) plastic-forming methods that shape the clay in a plastic condition at 15% to
25% water;
(3) semi-dry pressing, in which the clay is moist (10% to 15% water) but has
low plasticity; and
(4) dry pressing, in which the clay is basically dry, containing less than 5%
water. Dry clay has no plasticity.

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Slip Casting:

A suspension of ceramic powders in water, called a slip, is poured into a

porous plaster of paris mold so that water from the mix is absorbed into the
plaster to form a firm layer of clay at the mold surface.
 The slip composition is 25% to 40% water.
 Two principal variations:
– Drain casting - the mold is inverted to drain excess slip after a semi-
solid layer has been formed, thus producing a hollow product.
– Solid casting - to produce solid products, adequate time is allowed for
entire body to become firm.
 Used for large parts, complex shapes; low equipment cost.
 Low production rate, limited dimensional accuracy.

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(Adapted from Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing M. P. Groover)

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Plastic Forming:

 Plastic forming, also called soft, wet forming, can be carried out by various
methods, such as extrusion, injection molding, or molding and jiggering.

(Adapted from Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, S. Kalpakjian)

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Semi drypressing:

(Adapted from Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing M. P. Groover)

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Dry Pressing:

 Process sequence is similar to semi-dry pressing - the main distinction is that

the water content of the starting mix is typically below 5%.

 Dies must be made of hardened tool steel or cemented carbide to reduce

wear since dry clay is very abrasive.

 No drying shrinkage occurs, so drying time is eliminated and good

dimensional accuracy is achieved in the final product.
 Typical products: bathroom tile, electrical insulators, refractory brick, and
other simple geometries.

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Drying andFiring:

 The next step in ceramics processing is to dry and fire the part to give it the
proper strength and hardness.

 Water plays an important role in most of the traditional ceramics shaping

processes. Thereafter, it serves no purpose and must be removed from the
body of the clay piece before firing.

 Shrinkage is a problem during this step in the processing sequence because

water contributes volume to the piece, and when it is removed, the volume is
reduced.

 As water is removed from the wet clay, the volume of the piece shrinks.

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The drying process occurs in two stages:

•Stage 1 - drying rate is rapid and constant as water evaporates from the
surface into the surrounding air and water from the interior migrates by capillary
action to the surface to replace it.

• Stage 2 - the moisture content has been reduced to where the ceramic grains
are in contact.

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 Firing also called sintering, involves heating the part to an elevated

temperature in a controlled environment.

 A process similar to the sintering employed in powder metallurgy.

 Firing gives the ceramics part its strength and hardness.

 This improvement in properties results from,

a) development of strong bond between the complex oxide particles in the

ceramics, and

b) reduced porosity.

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