3D Printing. Ceramic.

Technical Ceramics. Zirconia and Alumina

Zirconia and Alumina give you a choice of 2 true technical ceramics offering superb material properties including very high operating temperatures, hardness and electrical insulation. 

Alumina offers best extraordinary hardness, is bioinert and has excellent corrosion resistance. Example applications include burner jets, laboratory crucibles and it's high dielectric strength makes it ideal as an electrical insulator. 

Zirconia gives you low thermal conductivity and its tribological properties (low friction) make it well suited for sliding components and some medical applications.  

Technical Ceramics:

• Zirconia or Alumina ceramic built with LCM technology.
• Temperature Resistance of 1650°c.   (Alumina)
• Typical accuracy +/- 0.1mm depending on design, geometry and build orientation.
• Build Volume - 81 x 51 x 156mm (Alumina)
• Build Volume - 75 x 47 x 146mm (Zirconia)
• Break away support structure.
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Our Technical Ceramics have specific design constraints which are a function of the build process. The process is best suited to small parts with thin walls. Please check our Design Guide here.  

Ceramic infused resin (SLA)

Our original Ceramic 3D Printing service, based on laser curing a Ceramic infused resin material via the Stereolithography (SLA) process. The base liquid resin is cured layer by layer by a laser. Each layer is 100 micron thick and gives a nice smooth surface finish.  We recommend that wall thickness or features in your design should be in excess of 0.5mm to ensure integrity.

SLA Ceramic :

• SLA ceramic material built in 0.1mm layers.
• Temperature Resistance of 132°c.   (268°c)  HDT
• Typical accuracy +/- 0.2mm depending on design, geometry and build orientation.
• Build Area - 500 x 500 x 590mm
• Break away support structure.

Material Properties.

Key properties for our Ceramic 3D Printed materials.

Zirconia (ZrO2):

• True Technical Ceramic
• Temperature Resistance:  1500°C+
• Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: 10*10^-6 [1/K]
• Density 6.08 g\cm3
• Hardness HV10  1250
• Flexural Strength: 890Mpa
• Surface Roughness: Ra 0.3um

Alumina (Al2O3):

• True Technical Ceramic
• Temperature Resistance:  1650°C+
• Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: 8*10^-6 [1/K]
• Density 3.985 g\cm3
• Hardness HV10 1450 - 1800 
• Flexural Strength: 430Mpa
• Surface Roughness: Ra 0.4 / 0.9um (2 versions)

3D Printed Zirconia and Alumina Datasheet \ Design guide. 

SLA Ceramic :

• SLA ceramic material built in 0.1mm layers.
• Temperature Resistance of 132°c.   (268°c)  HDT
• Density 1.61 g/cm³
• Tensile Modulus 10500Mpa  (9800Mpa)
• Tensile Strength 68Mpa (80Mpa)
• Elongation at Break 1.1% (1.2%)
• Typical accuracy +/- 0.2mm depending on design, geometry and build orientation.
• Build Area - 500 x 500 x 590mm
• Break away support structure.

• Figures in brackets after a Thermal Postcure. Cost option, please request pricing) - Revised 6th December 2018. 

Ceramic 3d printing.

Ceramic nozzle, 3D printed for a factory production line application.

The design pictured was 3d printed in our ceramic material to take advantage of it's superior temperature resistance. The part delivers cooling air but works in very close proximity to a high temperature laser. The off white color means helps manage ambient in the environment.

3D Printed Ceramic Wave Guide.

Our Ceramic material offers excellent electrical properties for use as a substrate in wave guide applications, in the microwave spectrum of frequencies.

3D Printed Antenna in our Ceramic material.

Along with desirable electrical properties, our Ceramic material gives a smooth surface finish for metalisation processes.

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