Fabrication of silica-based ceramic cores with internal lattice structures by stereolithography

Ceramic cores are widely used in investment casting,and ideal properties of cores are essential for high-quality castings.Under the circumstances requiring thick cores,solid cores are likely to encounter deformation and cracking defects due to the accumulation of shrinkage.Therefore,with the superiority of ceramic stereolithography in producing complex ceramic parts,hollow cores with lattice structures were designed and fabricated.The dimensional accuracy and properties of the green and sintered bodies were evaluated.Results show the dimensional accuracy of sintered cores is controlled within±0.25 mm benefited from the precise green bodies.The mechanical properties are not obviously deteriorated.The bending strength reaches 11.94 MPa at room temperature and 12.87 MPa at 1,500°C with a creep deformation of 0.345 mm.Furthermore,casting verifications prove that the hollow cores meet the requirements of investment casting.Smooth casting surfaces are obtained,at the same time,the core-removal efficiency is improved by over 3 times.