Resin for production of porous ceramic stereolithography and methods of its use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11230503-B2
Application number	US-201715634165-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2017
Priority date	Jun 27, 2017
Publication date	Jan 25, 2022
Grant date	Jan 25, 2022

Abstract

A ceramic resin is provided, along with its methods of formation and use. The ceramic resin may include a crosslinkable precursor, a photoinitiator, ceramic particles, and pore forming particles. The ceramic resin may be utilized to form a ceramic casting element, such as via a method that includes forming a layer of the ceramic resin; applying light onto the ceramic resin such that the photoinitiator initiates polymerization of the crosslinkable precursor to form a crosslinked polymeric matrix setting the ceramic particles and the pore forming particles; and thereafter, heating the crosslinked polymeric matrix to a first temperature to burn out the pore forming particles.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A ceramic resin, comprising:
a crosslinkable precursor, wherein the crosslinkable precursor comprises 5% to 75% by volume of the ceramic resin;
a photoinitiator;
ceramic particles; and
pore forming particles, wherein the photoinitiator is configured to initiate polymerization of the crosslinkable precursor to form a crosslinked polymeric matrix setting the ceramic particles and the pore forming particles.

2. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the pore forming particles comprise about 0.1% to about 25% by volume of the ceramic resin.

3. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the pore forming particles comprise about 10% to about 25% by volume of the ceramic resin.

4. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the pore forming particles comprise an organic material that is a solid at room temperature and becomes gaseous within a temperature range of about 70° C. to about 250° C.

5. The ceramic resin of claim 4 , wherein the organic material comprises naphthalene, a naphthalene-related compound, an epoxy, an acrylic, cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, aluminum acetylacetonate, or a mixture thereof.

6. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the pore forming particles have an average diameter of about 1 μm to about 100 μm.

7. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the crosslinkable precursor comprises an acrylic precursor, an epoxy precursor, cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, or a mixture thereof.

8. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the ceramic particles comprise about 50% to about 90% by volume of the ceramic resin.

9. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the photoinitiator comprises about 0.1% to about 4% by volume of the ceramic resin.

10. The ceramic resin of claim 1 , wherein the photoinitiator cures the crosslinkable precursor upon exposure to electromagnetic radiation to form a crosslinked polymeric matrix having a burnout temperature that is about 250° C. to about 500° C.

11. A method of forming a ceramic casting element, the method comprising:
forming a layer of a ceramic resin, wherein the ceramic resin comprises a crosslinkable precursor, a photoinitiator, ceramic particles, and pore forming particles, wherein the crosslinkable precursor comprises 5% to 75% by volume of the ceramic resin;
applying light onto the ceramic resin such that the photoinitiator initiates polymerization of the crosslinkable precursor to form a crosslinked polymeric matrix setting the ceramic particles and the pore forming particles; and
thereafter, heating the crosslinked polymeric matrix to a first temperature to burn out the pore forming particles.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first temperature is about 125° C. to about 250° C. such that the pore forming particles vaporize to form voids in the crosslinked polymeric matrix.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the pore forming particles comprise an organic material.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein, after heating the polymeric matrix to the first temperature, the polymerix matrix has a porosity corresponding to the volume of the pore forming particles within the ceramic resin.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
after heating the polymeric matrix to the first temperature, heating the polymeric matrix to a second temperature to burn out the polymeric matrix leaving a sintered ceramic core.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the second temperature is greater than the first temperature, and wherein the second temperature is about 250° C. to about 500° C.

17. A method of investment casting a component, the method comprising:
casting the component within a ceramic shell that includes the sintered ceramic core of claim 15 .

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the component is cast by solidifying molten metal in the ceramic shell such that the ceramic core defines voids within the component.

19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
removing the ceramic shell and the sintered ceramic core from the component.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Gold Scott Alan

Classifications

• C08J9/26 Primary

  by elimination of a solid phase from a macromolecular composition or article, e.g. leaching out · CPC title

• C04B38/062

  the burned-out substance being formed in situ, e.g. by polymerisation of a prepolymer composition containing ceramic powder · CPC title

• C08J2300/00

  Characterised by the use of unspecified polymers · CPC title

• C08J9/0066

  Use of inorganic compounding ingredients · CPC title

• C04B38/0615

  the burned-out substance being a monolitic element having approximately the same dimensions as the final article, e.g. a porous polyurethane sheet or a prepreg obtained by bonding together resin particles (C04B38/0022 takes precedence) · CPC title