CCMAS Course Search

This course will expose students to the business side of ceramics. Under the guidance of the course lecturer, students will explore ceramics as an entrepreneurial craft and will learn practical tips on setting up a thriving ceramic business venture beginning with a viable ceramic business plan adaptable for today's market and consumers' needs. Students will be tasked to familiarise themselves with prevailing market conditions while they embark on initiatives to market their own works through individual endeavour or partnership. A self-reflection on their ventures will be compiled in reports that will be assessed by the course lecturer.

Students are introduced to various clay-based ceramic production methods through hands-on experience. This first part will focus on traditional, soft plastic and low-volume techniques such as throwing and wheel turning. In addition to this, hand-building techniques will be explored for ceramic form modelling, where students can use clay to create unique sculptural objects that can be mass-producible. The aspect of hand-building will incorporate effective use of coils in object building, slab method in making clay models. Students are encouraged to initiate their target ideas from sketches and concept development, acquitting themselves with proper studio maintenance and safety culture.

In Ceramic Forming Techniques II, students will explore further the use of clay as a good medium for expression of idealised concept and creative forms in ceramic modelling. This aspect will cover high volume mechanical techniques such as jiggering and jollying. Other techniques to be introduced include particulate forming processes such as slip casting, tape casting, injection moulding, pressing and stiff plastic method such as extrusion. Colloidal processing and shaping of complex non-oxide ceramics such as direct coagulation casting, gel casting will be introduced.

This course is an introductory course in ceramic workshop practice. The course introduces students to the basic processes involved in ceramic production. It seeks to build the students' knowledge on the types of machinery employed in the production of ceramics, their uses and maintenance. The course also includes topics on how to plan and design a ceramic workshop. It would involve studying the various sections of a typical ceramic workshop and their relevance to the production process.

A practical exploration of knowledge and skills acquired on various ceramic forming and decorative techniques to produce a series of functional wares and ceramic prototypes. Students are expected to demonstrate a high level of creativity, craftsmanship and critical thinking in the production processes adopted and the outcomes. Presentation of the deliverables will be subjected to critical evaluation and assessment by the lecturer in charge and a professional expert.

Develop creative concepts by extensively using ceramic materials in a sustainable manner for the production of unique functional ceramics such as tiles, tesserae, wall claddings, bricks, ceramic fittings. for the built environment – design of both interior and exterior spaces. Develop ceramic prototypes for architectural applications and the processes for mass production. Harness all forms of knowledge on the elements and principles of designs, product specifications and ergonomic standards in the making of their 3-dimensional objects.

Introduction to types of dental ceramics and their applications in dentistry. Types and properties of dental ceramics, their advantages and disadvantages. Various fabrication techniques for various types of ceramics such as sintering, heat pressing, dry pressing and sintering, slip casting and glass infiltration, soft machining and glass infiltration, soft machining, and sintering. Soft machining, sintering and heat pressing, heat machining, heat machining, and heat treatment.

Introduction; Structure of ceramic materials; Fracture strength; Impact resistance and toughness; statistical variations in strength and Weibull distribution. Thermal shock resistance and Thermal spalling resistance; Refractoriness. Deterioration: Chemical attack (e.g., on concrete) at high temperatures (e.g., on ceramic refractories); Nuclear radiation damage. Structure of glass; Transformation Temperature of glass. Glass forming materials, Types of glasses, Properties and Applications. Glass-Ceramics: Properties and Applications. Classes of polymers viz: thermoplastics; thermoset; rubbers and elastomers. Structure of polymers: Chemical composition, polymerisation, cross-linking and chain branching, molecular weight and molecular-weight distribution, chemical and steric isomerism and stereoregularity, blends, grafts and co-polymers. Physical structure: Rotational isomerism, orientation and crystallinity. Introduction to the basic mechanical properties of polymeric materials. Relationship between structure and properties. Glass transition temperature. Engineering and domestic applications of polymers.

Analysis of material balances for multiple systems. Analysis of material balances problems with direct solutions. Material balances using algebraic techniques control surface and stage balances for open and closed system. Problems involving species and elements for reacting and non-reacting systems. Material balances in process flow sheets. Energy balances procedures; energy balances for reactive and non-reactive processes; combined mass and energy systems. Computer aided balance calculations.

Laboratory experiments in transport phenomena. Kinetics and separation process