Process for injection molding sinterable carbide ceramic materials

Claim 1

A process for producing a sintered carbide ceramic article comprising the steps of: a. forming a homogeneous mixture containing from about 65 to about 86 percent by weight of a sinterable carbide ceramic material; from about 0.2 to about 0.5 percent by weight of a sintering aid of boron or beryllium selected from the group of elemental beryllium, beryllium compounds, elemental boron, boron compounds, or mixtures thereof; from about 14 to about 30 percent by weight of a mixture of thermoplastic resin and at least one oil or wax having a lower volatilizing temperature than said resin; and a carbon source material sufficient to provide from about 0.5 to about 5.0 percent by weight excess carbon, b. injection molding said mixture to produce a molded product, c. removing said thermoplastic resin by baking said molded product at a temperature between about 450° C. and about 1000° C. to produce a porous baked product, consisting of ceramic material, sintering aid and excess carbon, d. sintering said baked product at a temperature between about 2000° C. and about 2200° C. to produce a sintered prduct.