Collaborative Research: PIM/GMM--Micro-Manufacturing of Ceramics by Combining Powder Injection Molding and Green Micromachining

该奖项支持将绿色微机械加工和粉末注射成型工艺相结合来制造微尺度陶瓷结构的研究。研究的目的是通过综合实验和模型研究来获得关于组合过程的基础知识。具体的研究方法将包括：(1)分析不同陶瓷材料、粉末和粘结剂特性以及工艺参数的绿色微机械加工工艺，以确定它们对工艺特性(包括几何质量和生产率)的影响；(2)对使用组合工艺制造的零件的机械和几何特性进行表征和建模。这项研究将包括氮化铝和碳化硅作为样本系统，并将通过制造工业陶瓷部件来证明研究结果的有效性。教育目标包括培养未来的制造业劳动力，改善现有的制造课程，并通过大学前的拓展活动吸引学生参与制造。如果成功，这项研究的结果将导致快速、可预测、可重复、低成本和准确地制造具有微尺度特征的陶瓷部件。陶瓷具有许多优点，如高温强度、化学稳定性、导热性和电绝缘。虽然主流的微制造技术已经有效地从半导体材料中制造出微电子元件和传感器，但我们目前还没有一种有效的微制造技术来从陶瓷中制造三维微结构。这种方法将为制造具有微结构的陶瓷元件提供有效的方法，从而促进令人兴奋的技术和科学进步。微型陶瓷器件和部件将使许多行业受益，包括医疗设备、电子/照明系统和清洁能源技术。从这项工作中获得的知识将提供对绿色微机械加工和粉末注射成型工艺的深入了解，以促进以可预测的方式制造零件。与行业和国家实验室的合作将使研究成果和我们的技术迅速转移到行业，从而影响先进制造业。这项研究对美国通过先进制造努力夺回制造业领导地位的努力也至关重要。

This award supports research on fabrication of micro-scale ceramic structures by combining green-state micro-machining and powder-injection molding processes. The research objective is to gain fundamental knowledge on the combined process through integrated experimental and modeling studies. The specific research approach will include (1) analyzing the green micromachining process for different ceramic materials, powder and binder characteristics, and process parameters to determine their effect on process characteristics, including geometric quality and productivity, and (2) characterizing and modeling mechanical and geometric characteristics of parts fabricated using the combined process. The research will include aluminum-nitride and silicon-carbide as sample systems, and will demonstrate the effectiveness of findings by fabricating industrial ceramic parts. The educational objectives include enhancing the future manufacturing workforce, and improving existing manufacturing curricula, and attracting students to manufacturing through pre-college outreach activities.If successful, the results of this research will lead to rapid, predictable, reproducible, low cost, and accurate manufacture of ceramic parts with micro-scale features. Ceramics offer many advantages such as high-temperature strength, chemical stability, thermal conductivity, and electrical insulation. Although the prevailing micro-fabrication technologies have been effective in creating micro-electronics components and sensors from semiconductor materials, we currently do not an effective micro-manufacturing technique to create three-dimensional micro-structures from ceramics. This approach will provide and effective way to make ceramic components with micro-structures, thereby facilitating exciting technological and scientific advances. Micro-scale ceramic devices and parts will benefit many industries, including medical devices, electronics/lighting systems, and clean energy technologies. The knowledge gained from this work will provide in-depth understanding of green micromachining and powder-injection molding processes to facilitate fabricating parts in a predictable fashion. Collaboration with industry and national laboratories will enable rapid transfer of research findings and our technology to industry, thereby impacting the advanced manufacturing industry. This research is also critical for the United States in its efforts to gain back the manufacturing leadership through advanced manufacturing efforts.