Thermal Debinding for Binder Burnout in Metal and Ceramic Processing

Abstract

Sacrificial polymeric binders along with metal or ceramic powder are used for shaping the components known as green parts. Debinding process removes the sacrificial polymers from the green parts and subsequent sintering produces completely solid and dense metal/ceramic components. The Shaping, Debinding, and Sintering (SDS) technique enables the highly precise fabrication of complicated structures from materials with poor machinability. Thermal debinding is the most popular method for binder burnout, involving heating of the green parts in a suitable gaseous atmosphere. Debinding is the most critical process in the SDS where an inappropriate burnout cycle can cause cracks, blistering, swell, distortion, or breaking of components. Additionally, ineffective debinding leaves residual binder in the final component, changing the component’s properties. The understanding of various polymer burnout events has advanced significantly over the past few decades, leading to a significant improvement in the debinding process. This review provides an overview of the research done on the thermal debinding process for SDS (mainly employing material extrusion based additive manufacturing and injection molding for shaping of green parts) and suggests recommendations for future research in this field.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tarun Rijwani

Tarun Rijwani is the managing director at Rudrabots Pvt. Ltd., a tech startup that specializes in manufacturing indigenously developed 3D printers for engineering and medical applications. With over seven years of experience in the 3D printing industry, he has contributed significantly to the field through his research and development initiatives. In 2023, he completed his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from a prestigious university, which has further enhanced his expertise in the field of 3D printing and related technologies. He has developed various technologies like multi material fused deposition modeling system, modified core-XY mechanism, to make 3D printing efficient and cost-effective. He firmly believes that 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we manufacture goods and aims to make this technology cost-effective so that everyone can leverage its benefits. His research interests include additive manufacturing, robotics, and automation, and he is passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology to create innovative solutions to complex problems.

Palaniappan Ramkumar

Palaniappan Ramkumar is an assistant professor in mechanical engineering department at IITRAM, Ahmadabad. He served as a lecturer in the mechanical engineering department at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, KK Birla Goa campus, Goa, India for 8 years. He has over 16 years of teaching and research experience. He completed his graduation in mechanical engineering from Madurai Kamaraj University in 2003. He obtained M.E. degree in Computer Aided Design from Anna University, Tamil Nadu, India in 2008 securing university rank with gold medal. He received his Ph.D. from BITS PILANI in the year 2016. His area of research includes experimental analysis of manufacturing processes, process modeling, computer aided analysis and optimization. He has published several research papers in the international journal/conferences. He has filed two Indian patents titled “Vibration Assisted Multi-Purpose Cutter” and “Fabrication of Implant Screw Required in Dental Prosthesis using Rotational Molding Mechanism”. He has written/edited a book titled “Recent Advances in Mechanical Infrastructure” in the Lecture Notes in Intelligent Transportation and Infrastructure published by Springer Singapore. He has conducted several workshops, short term training programs and seminars. He has an ongoing research project funded by SERB-DST and Government of India. He is a life member of various prestigious societies which includes Institute of Engineers (MIE), Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) and Hong Kong Society of Mechanical Engineers (HKMSE).