New technique for manufacturing ceramics

Research lead | Licensing opportunity

Engineers at Leicester University have invented a new technique for use in the manufacture of ceramics that has the potential to save time and money while reducing wastage.

The method is intended to replace the traditional trial and error approach to sintering, by applying computer modelling techniques to this critical point in the manufacturing process.

Jingzhe Pan of the Department of Engineering, said, “Ceramics are produced by firstly compacting powders into a solid, and then firing this solid [sintering]. During [sintering], the powders are heated to a temperature where they adhere to each other. At this stage, materials are essentially re-packed more closely, such that overall volume decreases, whilst the density increases.”

“Ceramics are intrinsically brittle, making post-production alterations in dimensions very difficult. Failure to accurately estimate the final dimensions of ceramic parts leads to a waste of materials, time and money.”

Predicting the change in dimensions during sintering is challenging, requiring extensive data on the material in question. The computer model uses density measurements of different ceramics during sintering to predict changes in dimensions before production begins.

“This method does not depend on the physical properties of any one ceramic material: it simply uses [density] data from a small sample of the material and extrapolates that, such that it can be applied to larger quantities used in manufacturing. It can thus be applied to a wide range of ceramics,” said Pan, who has been investigating this process for the last 10 years.

While the ceramics industry is aware of the potential of computer and mathematical modelling, and of the benefits of shifting emphasis from historical data to a more predictive approach, such techniques have not yet been widely adopted.

Pan said the system still needs to be converted into a more user-friendly format for industrial use and be demonstrated in a range of industrial products.