Literature review: Methods for achieving high powder bed densities in ceramic powder bed based additive manufacturing

In additive manufacturing the powder bed based processes binder jetting and powder bed fusion are increasingly used also for the production of ceramics. Final part properties depend to a high percentage on the powder bed density. Therefore, the aim is to use the best combination of powder deposition method and powder which leads to a high packing of the particles. The influence of flowability, powder properties and deposition process on the powder bed density is discussed and the different deposition processes including slurry-based ones are reviewed. It turns out that powder bed density reached by slurry-based layer deposition exceeds conventional powder deposition, however, layer drying and depowdering are extra steps or more time-consuming for the slurry route. Depending on the material properties needed the most suitable process for the part has to be selected.