Proposal

1.0 Title
Mould Making and Production of Ceramic Product Using Slip Casting Process

2.0 Introduction
Slip casting is one of the most widely used industrial ceramic techniques. It is because the
product can have any shape including the complex one. To produce a product using slip casting
method, a mould made of Plaster of Paris and water is needed. A model of the product will be
used to create the working mould and usually a two-piece working mould will be used. There are
two types of casting which are drain casting and solid casting. One is to produce hollow ware
and the latter one is to produce solid ware. When the slip is poured into the mould, the
suspension is being sucked into the mould, the powder particles are forced towards the mould
walls and a consolidated layer (filter cake) is gradually built up. When a desirable layer thickness
has been obtained, the casting process is stopped either by having the excess slip removed, or by
letting the casting fronts approach each other in the centre of the piece to form a solid body. The
cast will be dried and fired in the oven to obtain the final product. The fired product will be
glazed to increase the aesthetic value and will be fired again for the setting of glaze.

3.0 Objective
The objective of this experiment is to understand the concept of mould making. The ratio of the
Plaster of Paris and water will be studied intensively. Besides, knowledge of slip preparation and
slip casting will be studied. The purpose of each raw material will be studied and casting
technique will be studied as well. This experiment is also aim to introduce the glaze and glazing
techniques.

4.0 Materials and Apparatus

Coin box, Plaster of Paris, raw materials for slip casting (Ball Clay, Kaolin, Feldspar and
Quartz), deffloculant (Calgon), oven, glaze and glazing equipment, furnace, viscometer, weight
balance

5.0 Parameter
a) Mould making
Three moulds will be made with different ratio of POP and water. The result of the cast
with different mould will be studied.
70 parts of POP to 100 parts of water
80 parts of POP to 100 parts of water
90 parts of POP to 100 parts of water
b) Slip making
To obtain good cast, the slip has to be aged. Aging time will become one of the variable
to obtain a good cast. 2 different slip with same composition but different aging time will
be produced and used. 1 slip will be aged for 1 day and the other one will be aged for 2
days
Ingredients of the slip:
Powder composition 60% - 1.5kg :
Ball clay 30%
Kaolin 25%
Feldspar 20%
Quartz 25%
Water 40% 1 liter
Deffloculant: Calgon 0.6% 230ml

6.0 Methodology
Product : Coin box
Justify :

The product has high aesthetic value.

Able to encourage saving habit.

6.1 Procedure
6.1.1 Mould making
a) A model is obtained to make the mould.
b) The suspensions of Plaster of Paris with different ratio are mixed and soaked for 1-2
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)

minutes.
The model is put into a container.
The suspension is poured into the container.
The model is removed from the mould when the mould shape is set.
The mould is dried for 1 day with less than 50 degrees Celcius.
The mould is inverted while drying to reduce the chance of new mould loss. Wet sponge
is used to wet the inner surface of the mould to avoid the accumulation of salt on top of
the layer.

6.1.2 Slip casting

a) The raw materials of the slip is mixed in a container.
b) Thixotropy and viscosity of the slip are determined by using viscometer. Density of the
slip is measured.
[As a guide, most casting slips perform satisfactorily when set to a fluidity of between
290 - 310 degrees overswing and a one-minute thixotropy of between 20-50 degrees, at a
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)

density of between 1.800 to 1.825 kg/l. (Sibelco Europe, 2010)]

The raw materials are mixed with the suitable of deflocculant.
The slip is left to age for 1 and 2 days.
Slurry /slip is poured into the porous mould
The slip is waited for 20 minutes until the desired thickness is formed.
Excess slip is removed
The cast is removed from the mould.
Seam mark is removed
The cast is dried for 1 day
The casting process is repeated with another two moulds which have different ratio of

POP to water.
l) The product is fired at 1100 degree Celcius for 45 minutes
m) The product is glazed by dipping and fired again at 900 degree Celcius.

6.1.3 Characterization of the Mould and Product

a)
b)
c)
d)

Moulds and product with different parameters will be tested.

Hardness test will be carried out on the products and moulds.
The density of the cast will be identified.
The porosity of the cast will be determined.