Gelatin gelcasting of ceramic components

Gelcasting is a new near net shaping technique, which has rapidly evolved from a laboratory invention towards industrial application. In gelcasting, a highly loaded but very fluid slurry consisting of powder, water, disperser and gelformer, is poured into a mould and subsequently gelled. Once gelation has taken place, the part is strong enough to retain its shape and can be demoulded, dried, calcined and sintered. A great advantage of the technique is that very complex shapes can be made with relative ease. In original gelcasting formulations, gelation was obtained through polymerisation of acrylamide monomers, which are classified as neuro-toxic. In this study, however, the feasibility of using a non-toxic gelformer (gelatin) will be reported. Relevant processing parameters such as slurry composition and preparation procedures, de-airing and gelation schedules are reported, along with results of sintering and resulting microstructures.