Slip casting

A forming technique used for some ceramic materials. A slip, or suspension of solid particles in water, is poured into a porous mold.A solid layer forms on the inside wall as water is absorbed by the mold, leaving a shell (or ultimately a solid piece) having the shape of the mold.

Slip-casting methods provide superior surface quality, density and uniformity in casting high-purity ceramic raw materials over other ceramic casting techniques, such as hydraulic casting, since the cast part is a higher concentration of ceramic raw materials with little additives. A slip is a suspension of fine raw materials powder in a liquid such as water or alcohol with small amounts of secondary materials such as dispersants, surfactants and binders. Early slip casting techniques employed a plaster block or flask mould. The plaster mould draws water from the poured slip to compact and form the casting at the mould surface. This forms a dense cast form removing deleterious air gaps and minimizing shrinkage in the final sintering process.