CERAMICS

Fabrication, Synthesis, and Processing

Fabrication and Processing of Glasses and

Glass-Ceramics
Ceramic Fabrication Techniques
Glass Forming Processes
Particulate forming
Processes
Pressing

Blowing

Drawing

forming

Powder

Pressing

Cementation

Fiber
Hydroplastic

forming

Hot Uniaxial Isostatic

Drying
Firing

Slip
casting

Tape
casting

Pressing

Used in the fabrication of relatively thickwalled pieces such as plates and dishes.

Blowing

Drawing

Used to form long glass pieces, such as

sheet, rod, tubing, and fibers, that have
a constant cross section.
Up until the late 1950s, sheet glass (or
plate) was produced by drawing the
glass into a plate shape, grinding both
faces to make them flat and parallel, and
finally, polishing the faces to make the
sheet transparent.

Schematic Diagram showing

the float process for making
sheet glass

Fiber Forming

Glass fiber is formed when thin strands

ofsilica-based or other formulation glass
areextrudedinto many fibers with small
diameters suitable fortextileprocessing.
The technique of heating and drawing
glass into fine fibers has been known for
millennia; however, the use of these
fibers for textile applications is more
recent.

Powder Pressing

Used to fabricate both clay and nonclay

compositions, including electronic and
magnetic ceramics as well as some
refractory brick products.
The degree of compaction is maximized
and fraction of void space is minimized
by using coarse and fine particles mixed
in appropriate proportions.

Hydroplastic Forming

The most common hydroplastic forming

technique is extrusion, in which a stiff
plastic ceramic mass is forced through a
die orifice having the desired crosssectional geometry.

Slip Casting

A slip is a suspension of clay and/or

other nonplastic materials in water. The
slip must have a high specific gravity
and yet be very fluid and pourable.

Tape Casting

acastingprocess used in the

manufacture of thinceramic
tapesfromceramicslurry

Hot

With hot pressing, the powder pressing

and heat treatment are performed
simultaneouslythe powder aggregate
is
compacted
at
an
elevated
temperature.
Used for materials that do not form a
liquid phase except at very high and
impractical temperatures

Uniaxial

The powder is compacted in a metal die

by pressure that is applied in a single
direction. The formed piece takes on the
configuration of die and platens through
which the pressure is applied.

Isostatic

The powdered material is contained in a

rubber envelope and the pressure is
applied by a fluid, isostatically.

Drying

As a clay-based ceramic body dries, it

also experiences shrinkage.
During drying it is critical to control the
rate of water removal. Drying at interior
regions of a body is accomplished by the
diffusion of water molecules to the
surface where evaporation occurs.
A body that has been formed and dried
but not fired is termed as green.

Several stages in the removal of water

from between clay particles during the
drying process.

Firing

During the firing operation, the density is

further increased and the mechanical
strength is enhanced.
Vitrification is the gradual formation of a
liquid gas that flows into and fills some
of the pore volume.