DOMINANT TECHNOLOGIES IN “INDUSTRY 4.0”
Technology for production of technical products with fixed thickness and made of quartz ceramics by means of a moulding matrix with a silicone insert
Molding of technical products with fixed thickness by casting quartz ceramics, based on pure quartz glass, requires specific technological regulations both in the preparation of the ceramic mass and in the process of molding itself. Due to the specif ic characteristics of the colloidal system such as low shrinkage and viscosity, casting in molds made only of gypsum is practically unworkable. A solution lies in developing a technology in which the dismantling of the die is supported so that the molded product can be easily removed. Proposed here is a gypsum mold developed in such a way that a silicone insert is mounted where the lower part of the cast product will be. The technological process presented here in detail includes the main stages of preparing a model according to pre-set parameters, making a gypsum mold consisting of two-parts and with a silicone insert, casting and high-temperature synthesis of the finished product made of quartz ceramics. The development is suitable for complex and large-size technical products made not only of quartz ceramics, but also of other silicate colloidal systems characterized by low and almost zero air shrinkage.