Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio ceramic microstructures by injection molding with the altered lost mold technique

A fabrication process for complex ceramic microstructures was proposed that combines a lost mold technique and ceramic injection molding. Two key points in this process were studied. First, the solubility of several engineering plastics in various organic solvents was tested to find appropriate combinations of mold material and solvent for dissolving molds. Secondly, the binder extraction rate and the strength of a green body during debinding were investigated. Experimental results indicate that acrylonitrile-butadiene styrene and acetone are the best combinations selected for this lost mold technique. We also propose that using gasoline as the debinding solvent and performing the debinding at room temperature will give a good time-saving effect and avoid toppling the microstructure if paraffin wax, stearic acid, and polyethylene were selected to compound the binder system. This process has been successfully applied to fabricate several ceramic microstructures, such as an integrated punch.