Development of Superplastic Dieless Drawing Apparatus for 3Y-TZP Zirconia Ceramic Tube

Abstract

A novel superplastic dieless drawing technique with local heating and tensile deformation has been focused on for fabrication of zirconia ceramic tube. In this study, 3Y-TZP zirconia ceramic tube with outer diameter of 6mm and inner diameter of 4mm as a superplastic material is used experimentally. An apparatus of superplastic dieless drawing with rotary stage for circumferential uniform heating and acetylene burner for high temperature of 1700°C is developed. The superplastiac dieless drawing experiment is carried out to investigate the effect of the ratio of drawing speed to feeding speed on the flexible controllability of diameter after drawing process. As a result, the reduction in area after drawing process can be controlled by the ratio of drawing speed to feeding speed. In addition, a maximum reduction in area of 79.2% can be realized in this process. Consequently, the validity of developed apparatus of superplastic dieless drawing for Zirconia ceramic tube can be demonstrated.