W. R. Grace Co.-conn.

Ferro Corporation

Jyoti P Chakraverty

Roy W Rice

Tariq Quadir

James D Jones

Polyvinyl alcohol copolymers are used as binder in an aqueous ceramic particle slurry for injection molding green ceramic bodies. The slurry is dried to form a coated powder which is then heated and injection molded into a desired shape. The molded shape is then fired to remove the binder and produce a dense ceramic part. The dense parts do not show any knit lines from the injection molding step.

Injection molding of ceramic articles using aqueous based thermoplastic

Transformation-toughened material bodies such as transformation-toughened zirconia may be strengthened by grit blasting the body surface. Grit blasting of the surface with a grit material such as alumina or silicon carbide can result in flexural strength increases of at least about 10-20% compared to the body prior to blasting. The method of the invention provides strength increases comparable or better than those resulting from surface grinding and may be used for a broader variety of body shapes.

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Wooster, OH, United States of America

Jyoti P Chakraverty