Direct fabrication of an integral ceramic mould by stereolithography

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel direct fabrication of an integral ceramic mould by stereolithography (SL). An aqueous ceramic suspension suitable for SL was prepared and its photosensitive parameters were measured to optimize its formula. For a thin-walled aerospace component, the whole process of designing, building, drying, binder removing, and sintering of an integral ceramic casting mould was carried out. Finally, to verify whether this casting mould could meet the requirements of the casting process, an aluminium casting part was cast with the anti-gravity casting method. Compared with traditional fabrication of a multi-layer ceramic shell for investment casting, this novel direct fabrication of an integral ceramic casting mould would meet the needs of not only research but also other small batch products with lower costs and shorter lead time.