Shrinkage, Weight Loss and Crack Prevention During Binder Burn Out of Components Produced" by Fused Deposition of Ceramics (FDC)

In the present study the sequential stages ofthe previously established binder bum out (BBO) route were characterized by obtaining precise shrinkage and weight loss measurements from interrupted runs. A DoE (Design of Experiments) approach was adopted to systematically investigate the effect of process variables; such as the heating rates during critical segments, part dimensions and environment (flowing nitrogen vs vacuum) on the shrinkage, weight loss and cracking during binder bum out. A stepwise TGA was performed to study the effect of ramp rate and dwell time on the kinetics of binder bum out, and an experiment was conducted to determine optimum wicking conditions. The results from this study have been used to maximize the weight loss and minimize the cracking during binder bum out cycle for FDC parts with different sizes.