Ceramic 3D Printing

Ceramic 3D printing has been a hot topic for several years and has been given a variety of hype and names, such as Rapid Prototyping (RP), Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF), Additive Manufacturing (AM), and the currently popular term 3D printing. These hypes have repeatedly been born out of the idea that 3D printing would enable printed Al₂O₃components to be produced at any time and in the shortest possible time, making conventional manufacturing unnecessary in the future.

Every new hype dissipated when it became clear that this would not be the case. Despite all this, 3D-printed technical ceramics, especially for the material classes metal and plastics, have been gaining ground in the industry for years. The market is experiencing steady growth. Especially at trade fairs like the annual Formnext in Frankfurt, it becomes clear again and again how rapidly the number of suppliers of 3D printing machines and service providers is increasing. The field of ceramic 3D printing, especially for technical ceramics, is lagging behind metals and plastics. This is mainly due to the high demands placed on technical ceramics and their complex manufacturing process.

Alumina ceramic 3D printing

Currently, there are only two major machine providers for 3D printing dense technical ceramics on the market: Lithoz, which developed LCM technology based on photocrosslinkable polymers, and 3DCERAM, which successfully implemented the laser-based stereolithography process for technical ceramics using the same physical principles. Alumina Systems has been working closely with Lithoz for over five years and has made LCM technology industrially viable within just a few months.

3D-printed ceramic components

Alumina’s ceramic 3D printing capabilities have been strengthened by the purchase of the largest commercially available 3D printer to date from 3DCERAM. The printer has a build area of 600 mm x 600 mm, enabling the production of 3D-printed components of unprecedented dimensions. Furthermore, small-batch and series production of specialized parts is possible. Alumina Systems aims to become the undisputed market leader in 3D printing of technical ceramics through innovation and customer focus. To this end, Alumina Systems acquired specialized IP to develop its own 3D printing process to industrial maturity.

The new process, which will be available at Alumina as an alpha tool from the beginning of 2020, is called laser-induced slip casting. This process processes ceramic materials at significantly lower costs than any other printer available on the market. Furthermore, build times are shorter, and the component geometry is virtually unlimited in terms of wall thickness and size. Since this process produces a green body with only a low binder content, the lengthy and vulnerable debinding process required by other processes is eliminated. This significantly increases process reliability and significantly reduces the costs and time required for thermal post-treatment.

Ceramic prototyping in ceramic 3D printing

In terms of innovation and the variety of component geometries, Alumina Systems is already the leading company in ceramic 3D printing and will continue to expand this in the future.