The self-standıng, malleable doughs of advanced ceramıcs facılıtate low-number productıon and prototypıng on a benchtop

Ceramics stand out for their long-term durability, high thermal stability, strength, and chemical resistance, making them ideal for extreme applications. However, these desirable properties often pose challenges in the near-net shaping of ceramics. Currently, there is a lack of cost- and energy-effective processing routes for advanced ceramics that align with rapid prototyping and low-volume manufacturing setups. There is a pressing need for alternative methods tailored specifically for ceramics. Recently, we have shown the preparation of self-standing, malleable doughs of advanced ceramics. These doughs are generated through the introduction of a single additive in an aqueous suspension and in under two minutes, they can be shaped by hand or pushed into a mold. The single additive is a grafted random copolymer that induces polymer bridging among ceramic particles leading to homogeneous coagulation. After a short period of drying, the green bodies can be near-net shaped at a benchtop CNC.The self-standing, malleable doughs represent a significant opportunity in ceramic processing, they can be machined with forces that are below 10 N and potentially, the waste and faulty samples can be recycled fully. This enables no material leak, time- and energy-efficient processing; along with the use of existing setups, the method can revolutionize low-number manufacturing and prototyping for advanced ceramics.In this thesis, I expanded the materials portfolio of these doughs from oxides to a multi-component nitride. In addition, I parameterized the machining of alumina to serve standardization of this processing technique and paved the way for adaptation of this technique by the establishments with no or minimum materials domain knowledge.