Effect of sphered particles on the firing contraction of porcelain inlay processed by cold isostatic pressing

The effect of the sphered particles on the contraction ratio of porcelain inlay processed by the cold isostatic pressure (CIP) method was investigated. The conventional lathe-cut porcelain powder was crushed to finer particles and the secondary particles with spherical shape by adding binders of acrylic resin, wax, and polyvinyl alcohol, respectively. Porcelain powder was molded as a disc-shaped green body in a refractory model and compressed at 200 MPa by CIP. From this green compact, the sintered porcelain was obtained by only one step of firing. The porcelain discs were then used for the measurements of contraction ratio, scanning microscopic observation, biaxial flexure strength, Vickers hardness, and density. Firing contraction was decreased to about 1% in the sphered particle groups, compared with 7% of the lathe-cut porcelain powder. Although biaxial flexure strength was about 85 MPa, which is lower than the 120 MPa of the control group, and the density was significantly decreased by about 10% from the 2.4 g/cm(3) of the control substance, Vickers hardness, which ranged from 531 to 537, showed no significant differences among all of the groups. The CIP method could save labor in the process of making porcelain inlays, and sphered powders could contribute significantly to a decrease in the contraction ratio in the sintering process. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.