Comparison between slip-casting and uniaxial pressing for the fabrication of translucent yttria ceramics

Slip casting and uniaxial pressing were compared as first consolidation stages prior to cold isostatic pressing (CIP) to produce translucent yttria ceramics. In the first step, yttria slurries suitable for slip casting were prepared. The viscosity was optimized with respect to the starting agglomeration state, amount of dispersant, milling time, and number of milling balls. Secondly, pellets were prepared either by slip casting or uniaxial pressing and then cold-isostatically pressed. Finally, the pellets were made translucent by a combination of pre-sintering and hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Although slip-cast and pressed samples exhibited similar green-body densities after CIP and pre-sintering, the samples prepared by slip casting were more homogeneous in terms of translucency and microstructure throughout their bodies. This was attributed to the ability of slip casting to minimize density gradients during packing, and to the beneficial effect of ball-milling to remove larger agglomerates before casting. Therefore, slip casting as a first consolidation stage prior to CIP appears to be more suitable than uniaxial pressing in order to prepare homogeneous optical ceramics.