ISOSTATIC POWDER COMPACTION PROCESS WITH BINGHAM SEMI-SOLID/FLUID MOLD MATERIAL

摘要

New powder compaction process, in which a Bingham semi-solid/fluid mold is utilized, is developed. In this new process, a powder material filled in a semi-solid mold is pressed by either of conventional pressing methods, such as isostatic pressing or die compaction, to fabricate a complicated shape without breakage; breakage is prevented, because the semi-solid mold acts as not only a mold but also a pressurizing medium, and it flows like a liquid during both pressurizing and unloading stages. This process encounters a problem that the semi-solid mold material can penetrate into the powder during the process, but the amount of penetration can be negligible if the size of powder particle is a sub-micron order. We show some examples of complicated ceramic and WC-Co products and also show a computational simulation method and results for the new process.