Re: Casting Ceramics

From: lblasch@opw-fc.com
Date: Mon Sep 13 1999 - 12:12:37 EEST


     Ron,
     
     "Ceramics" is a broad term.
     
     You could go to any number of ceramics studios in your area and get a
     wide variety of materials and processes demonstrated.
     
     1)Silicone molds are often used to produce high detail parts, but the
     sintering process causes warpage in non-uniform cross sections.
     
     2)Plaster molds are used to produce hollow near-uniform wall parts by
     slip casting liquid clay mixtures into them and pouring out the excess
     after a time. The water soaks into the plaster at the surface and the
     clay hardens. Vases, statues, figurines, sinks, toilets...
     
     3)Ceramic tiles are usually produced by stamping dry powder in a metal mold
     to produce a "green" part, a glaze is then added and it is then "fired" or
     "sintered" to produce the part. Many carbide tool inserts are made this way
     without the glaze of course.
     
     4)Commercial dinnerware is produced by extruding a clay mixture and then
     spinning, stamping, molding... to create the shapes desired and then
     "sintering" or "firing" them.
     
     5)Hand made ceramics use all of the above plus hand forming or spinning on
     a potters wheel. Another process used is rope lay-up... roll long strands
     of clay and build the shape desired one layer at a time (manual RP circa
     6000 BC).
     
     6) In the "High Tech" arena there are processes that spin fibers into
     threads that are then matted to create insulation tiles (US Space Shuttle
     Heat Sheild) and there are even more exotic manufacturing processes that
     produce a wide variety of application specific parts, but for your basic
     ceramic part it's just:
     
     Shape or Mold clay mixture, Glaze if desired, Fire or "Sinter" and you got
     Ceramics.
     
     Larry Blasch
     Design Engineer
     OPW Fueling Components
     Cincinnati, OH 45240-5003
     
     Voice: (513) 870-3356
     Fax: (513) 874-1231
     e-mail: lblasch@opw-fc.com
     
     
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Casting Ceramics
Author: "Ron Hollis" <rhollis@quickparts.com> at internet
Date: 9/10/99 6:01 PM
     
Anyone with information on casting Ceramics in RTV molds?
     
Source of materials?
Is it a 2-part mixture for a room-temperature operation?
Does it work with silicone?
Gotchas?
     
Thanks!
     
     
-------------------------------------------------
Ronald L. Hollis, P.E.
Rapid Tech Engineering, Inc
1580 Sparkman Drive, Ste 212
Huntsville, AL 35816
rhollis@quickparts.com
256-830-8121
256-864-0025 (FAX)
www.quickparts.com
     
     
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jun 05 2001 - 22:52:42 EEST