Sep.7, 2012
A 7,000 year old technique, known as Egyptian faience, or Egyptian Paste, could offer a potential process and material for use in the latest 3D printing techniques of ceramics, according to researchers at UWE Bristol.
In this film below professor Stephen Hoskins of University of the West of England (UWE) introduces how they develop prototype models in ceramics. Working with Denby Potteries, researchers print 3D object layer by layer using a specially-created – and now patented - ceramic powder.
Professor Stephen Hoskins Director of UWE's Centre for Fine Print Research and David Huson, Research Fellow, have received funding of over £385,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to undertake a major investigation into a self-glazing 3D printed ceramic, inspired by ancient Egyptian Faience ceramic techniques.
The researchers believe that it possible to create a contemporary 3D printable, once-fired, self-glazing, non-plastic ceramic material that exhibits the characteristics and quality of Egyptian Faience.
Faience was first used in the 5th Millennium BC and was the first glazed ceramic material invented by man. Faience was not made from clay (but instead composed of quartz and alkali fluxes) and is distinct from Italian Faience or Majolica, which is a tin, glazed earthenware. (The earliest Faience is invariably blue or green, exhibiting the full range of shades between them, and the colouring material was usually copper). It is the self-glazing properties of Faience that are of interest for this research project.
(Here are some faience pendants that have been fired once (the turquoise glaze is a result of efflorescence) Source: amywallerpottery)
This three-year research project will investigate three methods of glazing used by the ancient Egyptians: 'application glazing', similar to modern glazing methods; 'efflorescent glazing' which uses water-soluble salts; and 'cementation glazing', a technique where the object is buried in a glazing powder in a protective casing, then fired. These techniques will be used as a basis for developing contemporary printable alternatives.
The project includes funding for a three-year full-time PhD bursary to research a further method used by the Egyptians, investigating coloured 'frit', a substance used in glazing and enamels. This student will research this method, investigating the use of coloured frits and oxides to try and create as full a colour range as possible. Once developed, this body will be used to create a ceramic extrusion paste that can be printed with a low-cost 3D printer. A programme of work will be undertaken to determine the best rates of deposition, the inclusion of flocculants and methods of drying through heat whilst printing.
This project offers the theoretical possibility of a printed, single fired, glazed ceramic object - something that is impossible with current technology.
Source: arhc.ac.uk
Posted in 3D Printing Technology
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