Integration of CAD, CAE and CAM procedures for ceramic components undergoing sintering

The paper discusses a new method to predict sintering deformation of complex ceramic components combining advanced nonlinear simulations and experimental results. Bending creep and dilatometric tests are used to fully characterize the complex material behavior and to determine the viscosity of vitreous china for sanitaryware as a function of relative density. The material model is then implemented into a USERMAT subroutine for the Ansys finite element program and the deformation of ceramic components of complex shapes during sintering is numerically simulated. Finally a method is developed and implemented in Ansys using the APDL language aiming to apply a subdivision algorithm to the final deformed mesh predicted through the finite element analysis. After the application of the subdivision algorithm, a smooth surface geometry of the ceramic component is obtained in a format suitable for manufacturing.