Ceramic 3D Printing Services is an innovative technology that allows for the creation of objects using ceramic materials in a layer-by-layer fashion. It enables the crafting of intricate and complex designs, often surpassing the capabilities of traditional ceramic-making methods.
At its core, Ceramic 3D Printing Services utilizes digital designs from computer-aided design (CAD) software to guide the printer. The printer then deposits layers of ceramic material, which can range from traditional clays to advanced technical ceramics, to build the desired shape. The object is then fired in a kiln, where it undergoes sintering – a process that fuses the ceramic particles to form a solid, durable structure.
What sets ceramic 3D printing apart is its versatility. It can be used to create everything from artistic sculptures and intricate jewelry to functional parts and components for industrial use. The technology is particularly valuable in fields that require materials with high thermal resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility.
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Size |
Customized Size |
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Processing |
3D printing + sintering |
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Material |
Traditional ceramics |
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Alumina |
Alumina is a widely used technical ceramic because it is a lower-cost material with excellent mechanical properties. Our proprietary, high-density alumina is the result of years of R&D and is specifically tailored to applications demanding high hardness, corrosion resistance, thermal stability, and electrical insulation. |
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Silica |
Silica is renowned for its exceptional thermal shock resistance and chemical resistance, making it ideal for printing cores and cored molds for precision investment casting. Our unique formulation has been successfully used to cast single crystal turbine blades among a host of other applications. |
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Zirconia |
Zirconia is known for its mechanical strength, fracture toughness, wear resistance, and thermal shock resistance. Though commonly used in dentistry for fabricating oral prosthetics, zirconia is gaining recognition as a vital structural ceramic for the manufacture of technical components that can withstand high stress and extreme thermal conditions. |
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Silicon carbide |
Silicon carbide (SiC), also named carborundum, is a ceramic-like compound formed by bonding silicon and carbon. Silicon carbide ceramic materials have many excellent features such as high-temperature strength, good wear resistance, small thermal expansion coefficient, high hardness, thermal shock, chemical corrosion resistance, and etc. Therefore, it is widely used in automobile, mechanical and chemical industry, environmental protection, space technology, information electronics, energy and other fields. |
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Surface finish |
Polishing, painting etc. |
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Application |
Industrial parts |
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Auto parts |
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Aerospace |
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Medicine |
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So what is ceramic? It’s a fairly broad term that includes everything between earthenware and Alumina. The origins of ceramic can be traced to Greece where they would bake clay at high temperatures to make it rigid. Technically speaking, ceramic is a solid material comprising an inorganic compound of metal, non-metal, or ionic and covalent bonds. Carbon and silicon can be considered ceramics from that perspective, and that’s important to note because the names of many of the 3D printable ceramics sound more like metals as they are not derived from clay. Nowadays, ceramics are divided into two categories: classic ceramics that are made up of only natural raw materials (clay) and technical ceramics that include other materials like silicon, carbon, and nitrogen.
Classic ceramics include stoneware, earthenware, and porcelain. Technical ceramics are also known as engineered ceramics and industrial ceramics, and their list would be much longer because more are regularly created as custom solutions for specific applications. Some popular technical ceramics are Aluminum Nitride, Zirconia, Silicon Nitride, Silicon Carbide, and Alumina. Technical ceramics have dramatically improved mechanical, thermal, chemical, and electrical properties as compared to classic ceramics. Most 3D printed ceramics fall into the technical category but the extrusion based printing process (discussed below) works primarily with classic ceramics.
● Aesthetic Quality: Ceramics have a unique, refined look that is highly prized in decorative and artistic applications.
● Tactility: Ceramics's tactile feel is unparalleled, making it a favorite for items meant to be held or touched.
● Chemical Resistance: Ceramics are resistant to many chemicals, making them suitable for various industrial uses.
● Biocompatibility: Certain ceramics are biocompatible, which is essential for medical implants and devices.
● Thermal Properties: Ceramics can have high or low thermal conductivity depending on the formulation.
● Electrical Insulation: Many ceramics are excellent electrical insulators, useful in electronic components.
Aerospace – The dimensional stability and low density of ceramic makes it ideal for sending into space on rockets and satellites in the form of bearings, seals, and thermal shields; parts undergo extreme temperature changes in space depending on their relative position to the Sun so it’s important that materials don’t shrink and expand in those temperature shifts, and of course, the cost of sending anything into space is directly tied to mass (weight) so lightness is always a priority.
Aviation – Those same properties are just as helpful, if not more so, in Earth’s atmosphere where there’s much more turbulence and (air) friction to deal with; ceramic is highly resistant to abrasion and heat so it can be found in various aircraft components, including armor, electrical insulation, and fuel nozzles. There’s good reason the NASA Space Shuttle was covered with ceramic plates (it was to prevent it from burning up upon reentry).
Automotive – The hardness and toughness of ceramic are especially useful in the automotive manufacturing space because, let’s face it, we’re kind of rough on our cars. Temperature swings, vibration, humidity, various chemicals and oils; our vehicles have to deal with it all. From spark plugs and brakes to sensors and filters, there are countless parts in any given car that have ceramic in them.
Medical – The fact that ceramic is light, durable, and biocompatible makes it a great material for the medical and surgical industries where it’s used for implants, surgical tools and guides, and diagnostic equipment.
Energy – Power generation and distribution systems are both highly demanding and critical and ceramic contributes to the reliability of these systems. Its wear-resistance, electrical insulation, and rigid mechanical properties allow it to survive the harsh environments of power plants.
Chemical and pharmaceutical – Synthesizing chemicals and drugs requires processes that involve rapid temperature changes, pressure, and corrosion. Custom ceramics can be engineered to outlast most metals in the specialty machines used in the industry.
Electrical engineering – Lots of electrical components have to operate in hostile environments, like the sensors in engines and furnaces as well as the vacuum chambers of particle accelerators; these are all cases where ceramics shine.
This is only a partial list as other applications of ceramics include optics, metallurgy, and textiles. The point is: ceramics are all around us and they do a lot. That means the potential market for 3D printed ceramics is rather large.
| 1 | Aesthetic |
| 2 | Tactility |
| 3 | Chemical resistance |
| 4 | Biocompatible |
| 5 | High or low thermal conductivity, depending on formulation |
| 6 | Electrical insulator |
| 7 | Very hard |
| 8 | High strength-to-weight ratio |
Process Flow
