Fabrication of Zirconia Crucible Using Low-Pressure Injection Molding Process & Investigation of Effective Parameters

In this article, Low-Pressure Injection Molding (LPIM) method was investigated as a method for forming zirconia (zirconium oxide) parts. It is one of the methods used for manufacturing engineering ceramics with complex shapes & high dimensional accuracy. In this method, a binder composition (paraffin & industrial waxes) is used as the plasticizing agent to shape zirconia particles. Different parameters such as temperature, pressure & injection time, mold temperature, etc. have been found to be effective in shaping the ceramic parts based on this method. Throughout this research, these parameters were examined, & their optimal values were obtained. The optimal injection temperature was in the range of 80-90 Celsius degree, injection pressure in the range of 3-5 bar, & injection time in the range of 10-15 seconds to form a crucible with the size of 130×85×75 mm (height×internal diameter×external diameter). This study also examined the FESEM images of the microstructure of parts in the injected, debonded, & sintered bodies. According to the findings, the zirconia crucible in this article shows notable similarity with the crucible made by Zircoa company with the code 3001 in terms of physical properties such as bulk density & apparent porosity.