Flash sintering of additively manufactured 3YSZ gears

We report on the fabrication of a complex gear-shaped 3 mol.% yttria-stabilized zirconia via a combination of additive manufacturing and flash sintering. The gear was printed via direct ink printing technique. Flash sintering was performed at an electric field of 150 V/cm and the specimens were rapidly densified within a few seconds at a furnace temperature of 1200 degrees C. The flash-sintered gear has a 95% relative density and shows no obvious warping or cracking after the rapid densification. Microstructure analysis and hardness measurement revealed grain size gradients and hardness variation along both thickness and lateral directions of the flash-sintered gear. This study demonstrates a possible route to produce dense complex-shaped parts using the flash sintering technique.

Automated summary

This study successfully fabricated a complex gear-shaped part with high density and wear resistance using additive manufacturing and flash sintering techniques. The research demonstrates the efficiency of flash sintering technique in producing complex-shaped parts.