Abstract
An elastic-plastic FEM is developed to study fundamental features of rubber isostatic pressing (RIP) with a view to performing a net-shape process. It is thus shown that the properties of the rubber, in particular Poisson's ratio, give a great influence on the shape and density distribution in obtained compacts. The thickness of the rubber mold is also influential, the thicker the mold, the nearer the shape of compact is to the cavity shape. With a view to net-shape forming, an optimization scheme is also developed for determining the cavity shape for a desired shape of compact.
