F. Dogan, M. C. Leu, G. E. Hilmas, University of Missouri, Rolla, MO; M. W. Hayes, The Boeing Company, St. Louis, MO

Summary: Complex shaped ceramic materials are typically manufactured by injection molding techniques, requiring high volume fractions of organic additives. Removal of the binders from the saturated ceramic green bodies requires a precisely controlled organic burnout process which is time consuming and not suitable for parts with larger dimensions. 3D components are first processed by rapid prototyping method using aqueous and non-aqueous slurries containing a small amount of binder. The process is carried out at the temperatures below the freezing point of the slurries. Various techniques including ultrasonic spray forming, uniform droplet formation, and extrusion have been utilized for the deposition of ceramic slurries by rapid freeze-prototyping. The frozen parts are dried by freeze drying technique followed by sintering at elevated temperatures. Integration of rapid freeze-prototyping and freeze drying techniques is expected to provide a novel and environmentally sound method for the fabrication of near net-shaped ceramic parts. The key advantage of the process is the ability to fabricate complex shaped monolithic ceramic parts with a minimum amount of binder. The role of the processing techniques and processing parameters will be presented to evaluate the feasibility of rapid freeze-prototyping in materials processing and manufacturing.