Cold isostatic pressing
Contents
General principle of cold isostatic pressing (CIP)
The cold isostatic pressing CIP is based on the effect that a pressure applied to a liquid spreads evenly in all directions (so-called Pascal's principle). Inside the liquid, this leads to a homogeneous pressure distribution, which can be used for shaping ceramic and metallic powders if the powder is encapsulated in an elastic die. Elastic polymers (elastomers) such as polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), synthetic or natural rubber have proven successful as materials for the elastic die. The main components of a cold isostatic press are the recipient filled with the pressure transmission medium, the high-pressure pump, the locking system, the overpressure protection and the system control. The recipient is a pressure cylinder, which consists of either a high-strength, thick-walled steel cylinder or a thin-walled steel vessel with a pre-tensioned wire winding.
The pressure transmission media used are preferably water with the addition of an anti-corrosion agent, oil-water emulsions or glycerine. A hydraulic unit like an axial piston pump is used to build up pressure. This unit is connected to the recipient via a fluid transport system with appropriate valves and throttles. The pressure cylinder is sealed, for example, by a polymer O-ring that is integrated into the cover plate and is pressed into a groove when the pressure is built up. In order to absorb the large forces in the axial direction, the cover plate of the recipient is usually supported by a massive yoke. A rupture disc is used to protect against overpressure, which fails when the critical pressure is exceeded and thus enables a regulated pressure release before irreversible damage to the recipient occurs. Cold isostatic pressing is carried out in most cases at room temperature. In specially designed presses, moderate heating of the pressure medium up to a maximum temperature of 300 °C is possible.
In technical practice, a distinction is made between two basic principles of cold isostatic pressing, the wet bag process and the dry bag process. In addition, the wet bag process can also be used for the post-compaction of components uniaxial pre-pressed in a rigid form. The three variants are explained in more detail below:
i.) Wet bag process: In the wet bag process, the die is a self-supporting, elastic hollow mold that is filled with the powder outside the cold isostatic press. Optionally, a metallic mandrel can be integrated into the hollow mold for the production of pipes. After filling, the die is closed with an elastic cover plate. In order to protect the interior of the die against the ingress of liquid, the die can also be enveloped with an elastic foil, which is then evacuated and sealed in a liquid-tight manner. The wet bag process is often used in research and development due to its great flexibility with regard to the system parameters (including pressures up to approx. 400 MPa), the component geometries and the number of components per cycle. It is also used in industry for the production of large-volume components (e.g. filter candles) and semi-finished products (e.g. for manufacturing of ceramic insulators) with dimensions up to the meter range. Disadvantages of the wet bag process are the limited dimensional accuracy due to the elastic die and the comparatively long cycle times of several minutes.
ii.) Dry bag process: In dry bag pressing, the elastic die is firmly fixed to the recipient. Correspondingly, the mold filling takes place inside the cold isostatic press. The main advantages compared to wet bag pressing are the possibility of full automation, fast cycle times in the range of 10 s - 100 s depending on the component size (increase in cycle time with component size) and better dimensional accuracy. However, it should be noted that in the area of fixing the elastic die to the recipient there are restrictions with regard to the homogeneity of the pressure distribution, which, however, are less relevant for simpler geometries such as plates, cylinders or tubes. Dry die pressing is preferred in industrial production. The best-known application example are spark plug insulators, which are manufactured in a fully automated manner in quantities of millions.
iii.) Post-compaction of uniaxially pressed components: The shaping of ceramic and metallic powders via the uniaxial pressing in rigid molds is restricted by the wall friction, which leads to increasing density gradients in the component with increasing height/diameter ratio. The result is an inhomogeneous shrinkage during the subsequent sintering. In order to use the advantages of uniaxial pressing in terms of dimensional accuracy and at the same time to achieve a homogeneous density distribution in the component, it is possible to pre-press components uniaxially in a rigid die at moderate pressures, e.g. in the range of 50 - 100 MPa, and then post-compact them using cold isostatic pressing, which can be done e.g. at pressures in the range of 300 - 400 MPa. For the pressure transfer, the component must be liquid-tight welded into an elastic foil. When welding the foil, it must made sure that the foil is not damaged by sharp edges or particles.
Figure 1: Cold isostatic press on a laboratory scale operated at the institute IEK-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich (manufacturer EPSI, type CIP 400-125 * 300Y). Usable volume: Diameter 125 mm, height = 300 mm.
Advantages and limitations of cold isostatic pressing
i.) Advantages: The main advantage of cold isostatic pressing is the elimination of friction-related variation in density, such as occurring in the case of uniaxial pressing in rigid molds. Therefore, higher green densities, higher green strengths and more homogeneous structures can be achieved with cold isostatic pressing. For example, press-related textures in the structure can be avoided to a large extent. Furthermore, components with a height / diameter ratio greater than 3: 1 (usually specified as limit for uniaxial pressing) can be produced relatively easily. Because there is no wall friction, it is possible to omit dispense with lubricants during pressing and the required proportion of other pressing additives can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, ceramic feedstocks can be compacted that contain abrasive solid particles that would lead to high tool wear in the case of uniaxial pressing.
ii.) Limits: Cold isostatic pressing is only suitable for relatively simple component geometries and is therefore restricted with respect to near-net-shape production. Due to the elastic properties of the die, there are limitations with regard to dimensional accuracy even with simpler geometries. Furthermore, the surface roughness is usually also relatively high, since the die wall yields elastically during pressing. Furthermore, sharp-edged particles can be pressed into the die wall, whereby the die is damaged in the worst case and demolding is aggravated. In order to increase the dimensional accuracy, mechanical post-processing of the cold isostatically pressed semi-finished products (so-called green machining) is often carried out. The relatively high green strength of cold isostatically pressed semi-finished products has a positive effect here.
