脱脂工艺对光固化3D打印堇青石陶瓷性能的影响

光固化3D打印是制造高度复杂结构陶瓷的一种有效方法。打印的样件需要经历脱脂和烧结等热处理才能成为可用的陶瓷件, 脱脂工艺对打印件性能影响巨大。本工作通过研究脱脂工艺对DLP光固化3D打印制备的堇青石陶瓷性能的影响规律, 建立缺陷抑制策略。比较并分析了脱脂气氛和升温速率对陶瓷样件的表面裂纹和元素分布状态的影响, 还对比进一步烧结后样件显微组织、尺寸收缩率、相对密度和弯曲强度等性能。研究发现脱脂气氛对样件各性能影响最大, 使用氩气脱脂可显著降低表面裂纹, 提高相对密度与弯曲强度; 并确定最佳升温速率为1 ℃/min。最终获得表面完整无裂纹且相对密度为(94.6±0.3)%, 弯曲强度为(94.3±3.2) MPa的堇青石陶瓷样件。本研究为光固化3D打印堇青石陶瓷的无缺陷制造与应用提供了科学依据与技术参考。

Influence of Debinding Process on the Properties of Photopolymerization 3D Printed Cordierite Ceramics

Photopolymerization 3D printing method is an effective means for the manufacturing of ceramics with highly complex-shaped structures and exceptional performance. The printed samples need to undergo heat treatment such as debinding and sintering before becoming usable final ceramic parts in various industrial applications, and the debinding process has a great impact on the properties of the printed ceramic parts. In this study, effect of the debinding process on physical properties and mechanical performance of the cordierite ceramics prepared by DLP photopolymerization 3D printing was studied, and defect suppression strategy was established accordingly. The effects of debinding atmosphere and heating rate on surface cracks and material elemental distribution of ceramic samples were compared and analyzed. The microstructure, size shrinkage, relative density, and mechanical performance such as bending strength of the sintered samples were also studied. It is found that the debinding atmosphere has the most significant influence on the properties of the sintered samples, in which the surface cracks can be significantly reduced, and the relative density, and bending strength can be increased when the debinding process is conducted in argon atmosphere at the optimized heating rate of 1 ℃/min. After debinding and sintering, the cordierite ceramic samples with a relative density of (94.6±0.3)% and a bending strength of (94.3±3.2) MPa was obtained. In conclusion, this study provides a scientific basis and technical reference for fabrication and application of cordierite ceramics based on photopolymerization 3D printing method.