Ceramics

Paper No. : ceramics:processing of ceramics

Module : Dry pressing

Development Team
Prof. Vinay Gupta, Department of Physics and Astrophysics,
Principal Investigator University of Delhi, Delhi

Prof. V. K. Gupta, Department of Physics and

Paper Coordinator
Astrophysics,University of Delhi, Delhi

Content Writer Prof. V. K. Gupta, Department of Physics and

Astrophysics,University of Delhi, Delhi

Prof. Pankaj Sharan, Physics department from JMI, New Delhi

Content Reviewer

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Description of Module
Subject Name ceramics
Paper Name Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Module Name/Title Dry pressing
Module Id M 2.3

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Introduction
Several techniques are used to compact or consolidate a powder into a green body. The choice of the
technique depends on several factors. These include product characteristics such as its size, shape, desirable
microstructure, dimensional tolerances, surface finish etc. Factors such as capital investment required and cost
of manufacture also have to be considered.

The various forming processes can be grouped under the following four categories
(i) Dry pressing
(ii) Plastic forming
(iii) Casting
(iv) Molecular polymerization processing
Dry pressing is commonly used for coarse powders or fine powders which have been granulated into coarse
granules by spray drying or other techniques. The applied stresses in this process are quite high, about 20 to 200
MPa..
Under plastic forming category come the processes such as extrusion, injection moulding, pressure casting
and jiggering. In these processes a large quantity of a liquid is present in the pores so that the degree of pore
saturation (DPS) defined as the fraction of the pore volume filled with the liquid, is in the range > 0.9. During
forming, the liquid in the pores is under pressure and exerts a back pressure. The forming pressures used are
lower, about 1-20 MPa.
In the casting processes, the DPS > 1 and the pressures are < 1 MPa.
In the molecular polymerization category, the most important process is sol gel processing which is
commonly used for the preparation of thin films and powders but can also be bused for the preparation of bulk
shapes (monoliths).
In this module we discuss the process of dry pressing which is a very common process for powder
consolidation into a green body.

Dry pressing

Introduction
Dry pressing is a versatile and very commonly used method for the consolidation of powder into a green body.
A wide variety of products including magnetic and dielectric ceramics, fine grained technical alumina (e.g. spark
plugs), cutting tools, grinding wheels, etc. are manufactured using dry pressing.
In dry pressing the powder is confined in a rigid die or in a flexible mould (in case of isostatic pressing) and
simultaneously compacted and shaped into desired shape. The technique of isostatic pressing is discussed later
in this chapter. We first discuss the pressing of powders in rigid dies, usually made of hardened steel. The relief
in the die can be only in the direction of pressing and not in any other direction as shown in Fig. 2.3.1

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
 The powder is filled in the die and the pressure is applied using a punch. Parts as thin as 0.5 mm can be
produced with a tolerance of ± 1 % in mass and ± 0.02 mm in thickness. The automated machines can give a
high output exceeding 5000 pars per minute.

Fig. 2.3.1. (a) Projection of a shape which can be pressed in a die; the relief is in the direction of pressing (b) shape which can not be
made by dry pressing.

Powder characteristics
In automatic machinery, the powder is fed mechanically to the die, A free flowing powder is therefore essential.
Fine powders are otherwise desirable because they sinter more easily but such powders do not flow well, do not
fill the mold well due to solid bridging. To resolve these conflicting requirements, the fine powders are first
granulated into soft granules having size 40 m to 500 m by spray drying or other methods.
Several additives are added to the powder to facilitate dry pressing. These are
(i) Binders: Usually used as water solutions. They provide enough strength to the green compact for
handling prior to sintering. Common binders are lignosulfonates (residues from the sulfite paper
process), dextrines, starches, celluloses, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), etc. The amount of binder is
usually 0.5 to 5 %.
(ii) Internal lubricants: These help the particles to slide and rearrange during dry pressing. Waxes,
paraffin and polyethylene glycol are commonly used.
(iii) Mold lubricants: These reduce the die wall friction. Examples are stearic acid, colloidal graphite.
In case the powder is to be made into granules by spray drying, the desired additives are mixed in the spray
drying slurry. Otherwise they are mixed with the powder as a solution wherever possible.

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Powder compaction behaviour
Consider the pressing of spray dried granules in a die. When the granules are filled in the die and the die is
tapped lightly, the mass of the powder divided by the volume occupied by the granules gives the quantity
called tap density or fill density. It is expressed as a fraction of the theoretical density of the powder. Usually it
is much below 0.5.

There are two kinds of pores present in the powder at this point, the pores between the granules called the
intergranular pores and the pores between the particles within each granule, called the intragranular pores (Fig.
2.3.2 a). The former are much larger than the latter. As the punch presses the powder, at first the granules move
and rearrange themselves. A slight densification above the fill density may occur. This is called stage I. On
increasing the pressure, at some point the granules begin to fracture and the larger intergranular pores are
eliminated. Granule deformation occurs by sliding and rearrangement of the

Fig. 2.3.2. Changes during the compaction of granulated powder.(a) as filled granules (b)during stage II the granules deform, the
intergranular and intragranular porosity is reduced (c) some interfaces between the granules and some intragranular pores last into the end
of stage III.

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Fig. 2.3.3 Pressure vs. compact density during die pressing
ndividual particles within the granules. The pressure at which this step starts is called the yield pressure (Fig.
2.3.3). The yield pressure is low for soft granules
with large quantity of binder and higher for granules with low quantity of the binder or inadequately plasticized
binder. As the pressure is increased further the density increases. This comprises the stage II (Fig. 2.3.2 b). The
relation between the density and pressure in stage II can often be expressed by the following relation
Dc = D0 + m ln(Pa/Py)
Here Dc is the compact density at any instant, D0 is the initial compact density, Pa is the applied pressure and Py
is the yield pressure. After stage II, the density increases only a little. This is termed stage III. Some boundaries
between the granules and some intragranular pores may persist to the end of pressing (Fig. 2.3.2 c).
The behaviour described above is for granulated powder. For bulk powder or for granules with different
characteristics, the behaviour may be different but on similar lines.

Die wall effects in dry pressing

Pressure variation along the depth of a workpiece

Let us consider the case of a powder being pressed in a cylindrical die Fig. 2.3.4 (a). Consider a slice of thickness
dH through the compact (Fig. 2.3.4 b). A horizontal pressure is generated because of the constraining effect of
the die. The friction at the die wall then causes the generation of a shear stress at die wall.

The friction stress is given by

friction = PH = KP

where K = PH/P is of the order of 0.4 to 0.5, P is the pressure applied by the punch.

Considering the equilibrium of the forces on the die

∑F = 0 = (D2/4)(P-Pb) - (DP)KdH

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Here Pb is the back pressure exerted on the slice as shown in Fig. 2.3.4

Fig. 2.3.4. (a) Die pressing (b) Forces on a slice of powder during pressing in a cylindrical die.

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Fig. 2.3.5. Variation of the pressure experienced at a depth H from the top surface of the compact as a function of the ratio H/D for the
die.

Therefore, -dP = P – Pb =(4KPdH)/D

Or H H
dP 4 K
∫ P = _ ∫ D dH
0
PH _ 40 K
ln = H
P0 D
Or

4 K
Or PH = P0 exp( _
H)
D

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Here PH is the pressure experienced at depth H and P0 is the pressure at the top surface i.e. the applied
pressure. It can be seen that due to the die wall friction, the pressure at depth H decreases as H/D increases
(Fig. 2.3.5).

The exponential decrease in the pressure as the depth increases, implies that parts with large H/D can not be
made using die pressing because after a certain depth, the pressure will not be sufficient to compact the powder.
Generally if H/D > 5, the compaction is unsuccessful. Thus long tubes, rods, etc. can not be dry pressed. For best
results, KH/D should be small. Using bidirectional pressing (from top and below, using two punches) parts
with larger H/D can be pressed.

Pressure profile through the vertical section of the workpiece

In the above derivation the pressure at a depth is assumed to be constant throughout the die cross section. In
fact, because of the friction effects, it is not so. This can be seen from Fig. 2.3.6 in which the pressure profiles
through the vertical section of the workpiece are shown at an early stage of pressing and at a later stage. It can
be seen that the pressure across a horizontal section is not constant. The maximum pressure occurs near the
top edge of the workpiece and decreases as one moves towards the axis of the die. Because of the die wall
friction, the movement of the bulk powder is relatively greater in the center than along the wall. The amount
of powder movement decreases as one moves away from the punch towards the bottom. These effects cause
the pressure profiles as shown.

Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing
Fig. 2.3.6. Pressure profile through the vertical section of the die at an early stage of pressing and at a later stage.

Elastic springback and defects in dry pressing

At the end of the pressing cycle, the powder mass is elastically compressed. The powder compact springs back
to zero elastic strain when the punch is withdrawn,. Excessive springback ( > 0.75 %) may lead to following
defects (Fig. 2.3.7):

(i) Lamination: This occurs due to (a) gradients in the transmitted pressure (b) gradients in the stored
elastic energy, due to nonuniform granules, nonuniform filling or compressed air.
(ii) End Cap: This happens when there is a high average spring back of the compact and there is a high
die wall friction.
(iii) Ring cap: This happens when the ejected corners have a high differential springback.

Fig. 2.3.7. The common defects encountered in dry pressing.

Isostatic pressing
In dry pressing in rigid dies, long shapes like rods and tubes can not be pressed. Also due to the pressure
gradients, the green density achieved in the part varies through the part. This may lead to differential sintering
and defects. To overcome these problems, the isostatic pressing is used in which the pressure is applied
through a fluid on a flexible mould in which the powder is filled. The pressure used is in the range 150-200
MPa, with pressures as high as 500 MPa being used in wet bag isostatic pressing for producing large parts.

The isostatic pressing is carried out in two ways. One is called the wet bag pressing and the other is dry bag
pressing. In wet bag pressing, the mould is separable from the pressure chamber. The mould is made of a
flexible material like synthetic rubber, silica rubber and polyurethane. The mould cavity is shaped in the shape
of the desired product. The mould is filled with powder. It may be vibrated on a vibrating table to fill the powder
uniformly. The mould is then immersed in the pressurizing fluid in a pressure chamber and the pressure is

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Ceramics:processing of ceramics
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Dry pressing
applied. The mould is pressed from all sides. This reduces the die wall friction and the effects due to large H/D
value. After pressing, the pressure is released slowly and the mould is taken out. The part separates from the
mould and can be taken out (Fig. 2.3.8) .
In dry bag isostatic pressing, the mould is attached to the pressure chamber and the fluid is present between
the mould and the rigid chamber wall. The process is the same as in case of wet bag isostatic pressing. Here the
pressure is applied radially by the fluid (Fig. 2.3.8 b).

Fig. 2.3.8. (a) The process of wet bag isostatic pressing. (b) Dry bag isostatic pressing

The powder is granulated into soft granules using a soft binder for the purpose of isostatic pressing. This is
because the shear stresses produced, which cause the breakage and deformation of the granules, are weaker
during isostatic pressing .than those produced during die pressing.
Parts having complex shapes and large sizes are produced by wet isostatic pressing while the examples of the
parts produced by dry isostatic pressing are medical prostheses, spark plug insulators, grinding media and
hollow tubes.

Summary
Dry pressing is the most common method to consolidate ceramic powders into a green body. In this method,
the powder is filled in a rigid die, usually made of hardened steel, and compacted by applying pressure through
a punch. Pressures in the range 20-200 MPa are used.

Very fine powders are first granulated into soft granules having a diameter in the range 40-500 m by spray
drying. Binders and lubricants are added to the powder slurry before spray drying.

During pressing, the granules begin to deform and break at a pressure called yield pressure. After this the
pressure increases as the granules deform further and the pores are eliminated. The final relative density
achieved may be of the order of 0.5-0.6.
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Ceramics:processing of ceramics
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Dry pressing
During pressing, due to the friction at the die walls, the pressure experienced by the powder compact
decreases from top (where the punch surface contacts the powder) to the bottom of the die. Due to this
reason parts such as long rods and tubes with H/D > 5 can not be pressed in a die using a single punch. This
ration can be increased by using bidirectional pressing in which two punches apply pressure from top and
bottom. In addition to the variation in pressure along the length of the compact, there is also a variation in the
pressure profile across any horizontal section of the powder compact. Due to these pressure variations, the
green density is not uniform through the compact.

In order to achieve more uniform and higher green density and also to be able to press parts in the shape of
long rods or tubes, the technique of isostatic pressing is used. In isostatic pressing a flexible mould, called bag,
made of rubber or polyurethane is used. The powder is filled in the mould cavity and pressure from all directions
is applied through oil in a pressure chamber. In wet bag pressing, the bag can be taken out of the pressure
chamber while in dry bag pressing, the mould bag is attached to pressure chamber. Parts having complex shapes
and large sizes are produced by wet isostatic pressing while the examples of the parts produced by dry isostatic
pressing are medical prostheses, spark plug insulators, grinding media and hollow tubes.

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Ceramics:processing of ceramics
Physics
Dry pressing