Abstract
Dispersion condition of Si3N4 powder in molten wax was established by comparing relative viscosity of mixture with 20 vol% solids loading, while the evaluation of compression-molded sample was demonstrated as an effective method for developing a binder system for injection molding. The best dispersion of Si3N4 powder in molten wax was achieved when Si3N4 powder was treated with 5% stearic acid, and the critical powder volume fraction was determined to be about 0.51 from density measurement of compression-molded samples. Samples containing polar secondary binder showed markedly improved green strength, higher thermal expansion and increased wicking rate in the early stage.