3D Printed Ceramics

• heat-resistant up to 1600°C/2900°F
• non-conductive
• wear-resistant
• smooth surface
• biocompatible
• solid
• food safe
• chemically resistant.

• Medical technology
• Automobile industry
• Analysis and measurement equipment
• Microreactors / Microfluidic applications
• Micro-electronics
• Plasma technology
• High-temperature application
• Aerospace sector
• Chemistry and laboratories

It allows to design parts that cannot be manufactured by conventional methods on this level of high quality. LCM consist of 7 steps:

1: It all starts with a CAD model of the design (STEP-file)

2: Then you need to choose the material; Aluminum oxide Al2O3 or Zirconium oxide (zirconia) ZrO2

3: The LCM (actual printing) process

4: Cleaning of the greenlings

5: De-binding, removing the polymer

6: Sintering: consolidation of the ceramic particles.

7: Quality Control

The biggest advantage of ceramic parts is that they are heat-resistant up to 1600°C/2900°F. But there are other reasons why developers chose ceramic over plastic/polymer parts. Ceramic parts are non-conductive, wear-resistant, have a smooth surface, are biocompatible, food safe and chemically resistant.

Yes, Ceramic is friendly to the environment. It is a mixture of earth minerals, clay, and water. On the other hand, plastics/polymers are man-made synthetic products that take a long time to break down.

The thermal conductivity of ceramic parts depends on several factors such as the kind of ceramic material, for instance Aluminum oxide or Zirconium oxide, the purity and density. But in general, ceramic parts have much higher insulating properties than plastics/polymers.

Not all plastics/polymers will melt. But even thermoset polymer/plastic should not be exposed to high heat. Ceramic parts are a great alternative to polymers when exposed to high heat.

3D printing doesn’t need any tooling other than the printer. Therefore, the non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs are very low. Changes in design during the developing/proto-typing process can be made by just changing the STEP.file drawing. In the last few years, ceramic 3D printin

The accuracy in processing ceramic parts by using the Lithography Ceramic Manufacturing (LMC) process, is mainly determined by the shrinkage in the thermal process. The following tolerances apply: ± 1 % of the linear measure but maximum ± 0.1 mm. Depending on the geometry higher accuracy can be achieved by iterative approximation.

Professional Industrial ceramic 3D printers may cost more than half a million dollars. In addition, you will need de-binding and sintering ovens. There are companies like Smartech/Steinbach who have the

Additive manufacturing means that a product is created by adding thin layers. 3D ceramic printers are an example of the additive manufacturing process.

Smartech/Steinbach developed and produced a ceramic part for a well-known medical device manufacturer in a series production of more than 12,000 units per year.