For our 3D printing service, we rely on 3D printing processes using stereolithography from Admatec. This allows complex geometries made of ceramic to be represented economically.
3D printing process
As a starting material, we use a suspension liquid consisting of a light-sensitive resin and the ceramic powder. As with the now common plastic 3D printing, a UV light source in the form of DLP (Digital Light Processing) is used to harden the resin at specific points. Layer by layer, the green part, as it is known in technical jargon, is created. At this point, the 3D-printed component is a composite in which the ceramic particles are embedded in a plastic that has been hardened by light.
It is only during the subsequent thermal treatment that the composite becomes a dense ceramic material. In the first step, the plastic is burned out by slowly heating it up and then sintered at over 1600 °C. Only then does the component receive the final properties of the high-performance ceramic.
Features and Benefits
Geometric freedom and fine structures thanks to stereolithography
High-purity materials aluminum oxide 99.9% and zirconium oxide
Resolution X, Y: 40 µm effective
Resolution Z due to layer thickness 15-40 µm
dense parts – no open porosity, 99.4 % TD
mechanical strength almost like that of pressed or milled parts
Surface quality of Ra = 0.6 – 1.2 µm , without post-processing, with post-treatment even better
repeatability
Wall thicknesses between 0.3 and 10 mm possible
economically scalable process -> not only suitable for prototyping and academic areas.