Sintering Process Optimization for 3YSZ Ceramic 3D-Printed Objects Manufactured by Stereolithography

Abstract

A 3YSZ (3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia) ceramic green body with 50 vol% of ceramic content was 3D-printed by supportless stereolithography under optimal drying, debinding, and sintering conditions in order to achieve high strength and density. The viscosity and flowability of the ceramic nanocomposite resins were optimized by adjusting the amounts of non-reactive diluents. The ceramic 3D-printed objects have a high polymer content compared to ceramics samples manufactured by conventional manufacturing processes, and the attraction between layers is weak because of the layer-by-layer additive method. This causes problems such as layer separation and cracking due to internal stress generated when materials such as solvents and polymers are separated from the objects during the drying and debinding processes; therefore, the drying and debinding conditions of 3YSZ ceramic 3D-printed objects were optimized based on thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis. The sintering conditions at various temperatures and times were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, SEM, and flexural strength analysis, and the body of the 3YSZ ceramic 3D-printed object that sintered at 1450 °C for 150 min had a relative density of 99.95% and flexural strength of 1008.5 MPa. This study widens the possibility of manufacturing ceramic 3D-printed objects with complex shapes, remarkable strength, and unique functionality, enabling their application in various industrial fields.

The Effect of Sintering Temperature on the Phase Composition, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia

“…It is critically important to manufacture materials resistive to the aggressive operating environment [35][36][37][38] to avoid microstructure degradation [39][40][41][42]. Therefore, along with strength and tribology tests of materials as the most popular methods for diagnosing their load-bearing capacity, the indentation test, known as the simplest mechanical method [39,43], is widely used.…”

“…Therefore, along with strength and tribology tests of materials as the most popular methods for diagnosing their load-bearing capacity, the indentation test, known as the simplest mechanical method [39,43], is widely used. This method is more microstructurally sensitive as compared to the above-mentioned ones and allows for estimating the crack growth resistance of materials [40,44]. Fracture toughness tests employing various specimen shapes and loading schemes are also quite microstructurally sensitive [40,44,45].…”

“…This method is more microstructurally sensitive as compared to the above-mentioned ones and allows for estimating the crack growth resistance of materials [40,44]. Fracture toughness tests employing various specimen shapes and loading schemes are also quite microstructurally sensitive [40,44,45]. Therefore, the application of microhardness and crack growth resistance test methods for diagnostics of the microstructure stability of YSZ ceramics is promising in terms of searching for the optimal sintering and treatment modes.…”

Influence of Al2O3 content on mechanical properties of silica-based ceramic cores prepared by stereolithography

“…Although stereolithography provides a practical technical way for the efficient and high-quality manufacturing of silica ceramic parts [22,23], there exist some research difficulties. Firstly, the forming mode of layer-by-layer curing can easily cause larger linear shrinkage [24], which will not only affect the mechanical properties of ceramic parts, but also limit the wide application of ceramic products [25,26].…”

Influence of Al2O3 Content on Mechanical Properties of Silica-based Ceramic Cores Prepared by Stereolithography

“…Although stereolithography provides a practical technical way for the efficient and high-quality manufacturing of silica ceramic parts [22][23], there exist some research difficulties.…”