Development of a Novel Tape-Casting Multi-Slurry 3D Printing Technology to Fabricate the Ceramic/Metal Part

Abstract

Printing ceramic/metal parts increases the number of applications in additive manufacturing technology, but printing different materials on the same object with different mechanical properties will increase the difficulty of printing. Multi-material additive manufacturing technology is a solution. This study develops a novel tape-casting 3D printing technology that uses bottom-up photopolymerization to fabricate the green body for low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) that consist of ceramic and copper. The composition of ceramic and copper slurries is optimized to allow printing without delamination and sintering without cracks. Unlike traditional tape-casting processing, the proposed method deposits two slurries on demand on a transparent film, scrapes it flat, then photopolymerization is induced using a liquid crystal displayer to project the layer pattern beneath the film. The experimental results show that both slurries have good bonding strength, with a weight ratio of powder to resin of 70:30, and print a U-shaped copper volume as a circuit within the LTCC green body. A three-stage sintering parameter is derived using thermogravimetric analysis to ensure good mechanical properties for the sintered part. The SEM images show that the ceramic/copper interface of the LTCC sintered part is well-bonded. The average hardness and flexural strength of the sintered ceramic are 537.1 HV and 126.61 MPa, respectively. Volume shrinkage for the LTCC slurry is 67.97%, which is comparable to the value for a copper slurry of 68.85%. The electrical resistance of the printed copper circuit is 0.175 Ω, which is slightly greater than the theoretical value, hence it has good electrical conductivity. The proposed tape-casting 3D printer is used to print an LTCC benchmark. The sintered benchmark part is validated for the application in the LTCC application.

Experimental and Statistical Modeling for Effect of Nozzle Diameter, Filling Pattern, and Layer Height of FDM-Printed Ceramic–Polymer Green Body on Biaxial Flexural Strength of Sintered Alumina Ceramic

“…However, on the other hand, the high hardness and brittleness of ceramic materials also make it difficult for shaping and machining. Methods such as slurry casting, dry pressing, and plastic molding have certain disadvantages [8][9][10][11]: forming complex components requires the use of molds with high geometric accuracy. Because high-precision molds are costly to manufacture and have long production runs, it is difficult to continuously improve and upgrade the product; sintered samples often require either laser processing or machining using diamond cutting tools to ensure sufficient accuracy in the dimensions and shape of the finished product; some special shapes and elements are difficult to produce using conventional molding processes, such as internal cavities, holes, and internal grooves.…”

The Upper Limb Orthosis in the Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients: The Role of 3D Printing

“…They are relatively easy to print and are used to create objects such as disposable dishes, engineered prototypes [57,58] or medical devices [59,60]. Dental implants should be printed by using ceramic materials [61,62] or metals (ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, cobalt-chromium alloys, gold and platinum) already used to produce joint replacements and pacemakers [63,64]. Moreover, by combining two or more materials (fiber and matrix) we obtain composite materials, enabling the customization of specific properties, such as high strength or stiffness (i.e., carbon fiber-reinforced plastics and glass fiber-reinforced plastics) [65,66].…”