Steps towards ceramic process scale-up: analysis of a laboratory process

In this paper the first steps towards a scaling up of a ceramic process are described, using as case study a lab-scale process, in which PZT ceramics are produced via an aqueous tape casting route. The process, the result of a feasibility study, was firstly analysed by drawing flowcharts; potential problems and flow bottlenecks were then identified and their solutions were pursued using a ‘soft’ problem solving approach.