Feasibility of preparing of silicon nitride ceramics components by aqueous tape casting in combination with laminated object manufacturing

Homogeneous green silicon nitride sheets consisting of 48.7 vol.% ceramic particles were prepared by tape casting. The slurry, used to prepared green tapes, own obvious shear-thinning behavior. No noticeable precipitation during tape casting process was found revealed by the result of energy dispersion spectrum analysis. Components with complex shapes were fabricated by stacking layer by layer of the green sheets and a subsequent pressureless sintering at 1800 degrees C for 1 h. All alpha-Si3N4 has transformed into beta-Si3N4 indicated by the result of X-ray diffraction. Due to the high homogeneous packing of the ceramic particles in the green bodies, the ceramic components could be sintered to full density with no noticeable distortions. Good flexural strength for the ceramic samples was observed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.