Manufacturing of ceramic components with internal channels by a novel additive/subtractive hybridization process

A new approach for fabrication of ceramic components with inner channels is proposed, as a result of the com-bination of two additive and one subtractive manufacturing processes. In this project, porcelain parts are man-ufactured by the Layerwise Slurry Deposition (LSD) process, meanwhile end milling and Direct Ink Writing (DIW)are applied to create channels on the surface of the deposited ceramic. Unique to the LSD process is the formationof a freestanding powder bed with a mechanical strength comparable to conventional slip casted ceramic greenbodies. Combining these three processes allows the manufacturing of ceramic objects containing an internal pathof ink, which in this case was a graphite-based ink that can be further eliminated by heat treatment to obtain aporcelain object embedded with channels. The results show the capabilities of this method and its potential tofabricate not only parts with inner channels, but also multi-material and multi-functional components (such asintegrated electronic circuits).