Ceramics Processing Facilities and Pilot Plant
McMahon Building, 2nd Floor

A complete suite of laboratory and pilot plant-scale equipment is available for both traditional and advanced ceramic processing. Equipment for slurry preparation includes ball mills, high-intensity mixers, and ultrasonicators. The ceramics pilot-plant includes a high-pressure filter press, spray drier, pug mill, jigger, ram press, low-pressure injection-molding machine, tape caster, slip casting facilities, and an automated dry press.

Numerous furnaces and kilns are available for heating parts in ambient conditions, under controlled atmosphere and at high pressure. In addition to a number of laboratory scale electrical furnaces, larger-scale equipment includes a roller-hearth tunnel kiln (up to 1300°C with cycle times as short at 3 hours), a HP630 hot isostatic press (up to 1150°C at pressures up to 30,000 psi), a commercial-grade six-burner, pressure-controlled combustion kiln (up to 1600°C), and Bickley furnace that can reach temperatures (up to 2400°C using four gas-oxygen nozzle mix burners).

For more information about ceramics processing research and services, please contact Dr. William Carty. For student training and equipment maintenance, contact Terry Guild.