Sintering
Sintering is a method for making strong
ceramic objects from ceramic powder.
- Mixing water, binder, antiflocculant, and ceramic powder to form a slurry.
- Spray drying the slurry
- Putting the spray dryed powder into a mold and pressing it to form a green body (An unsintered ceramic material)
- Heating the Green Body at low temperature to burn the binder off.
- Sintering at a high temperature to fuse the ceramic particles together.
A similar process of sintering is sometimes used to form
metallic objects.
Sintered bronze in particular is frequently used as a material for
bearings since it is porous and thus allows lubricants to flow through.
Sintering is related to Diffusion.