Patent ID: 8221664

Claim:
A hot axial pressing method for sintering a ceramic powder comprising: placing a first porous body, the ceramic powder and a second porous body into a mold shell supported by a support, wherein the ceramic powder is located between the first porous body and the second porous body, evacuating gaseous components from the ceramic powder up to an ambient pressure of less than 0.8 bar, heating the porous bodies and the ceramic powder up to a temperature of about 900.degree. C.; applying a pressure to the porous bodies and the ceramic powder to about 75 MPa; and disconnecting the mold shell and the support in the heating and applying pressure step, wherein a variation in time of the heating step and a variation in time of the pressure applying step are adjusted to each other such that the mold shell is held by the porous bodies and/or the ceramic powder in a disconnected state with respect to the support.