Industry

Silicon nitride turbocharger rotors are used to enhance the response of an engine. Using ceramic rotors instead of metal reduces their inertia and thus reduces deceleration. In addition, these rotors are exposed to very hot gas and so must be durable even under these extreme conditions. Until now, complicated components made of silicon nitride could not be manufactured due to the limitations of conventional machining processes. Thanks to their powerful LCM technology, Lithoz CeraFab 3D printers enable the production of complex-shaped rotors to improve the performance of microturbines.

Watch a video on thermal shock resistance testing for a 3D-printed silicon nitride component.

Microreactor for high-temperature applications

Thanks to its many years of experience, Bosch Advanced Ceramics is one of the world's top names in the series additive manufacturing of technical ceramics. Together with BASF and KIT, the company developed a microreactor made of aluminum oxide whose internal flow channels had a diameter of just 0.5 mm. The filigree webs of this application, which can be used in basic chemical research for example, measured 0.3 mm.

Das erzielte Ergebnis deckt die speziellen Anforderungen des geplanten Einsatzes bestens ab: die hervorragende Wärmeleitfähigkeit garantiert stabile Temperaturkontrolle und die geringe thermische Ausdehnung stellt sicher, dass es auch bei großen Temperaturschwankungen zu geringen Verzügen im Reaktor kommt. Die niedrige elektrische Leitfähigkeit und die Transluzenz des keramischen Bauteils ermöglichen darüber hinaus auch Messverfahren, die beim Einsatz von Metall nicht realisierbar sind. Bosch Advanced Ceramics 

Steinbach AG is considered a pioneer in the field of series additive manufacturing of technical ceramics. The novel geometry of the final high-performance tube with kinks and inner contours, a minimal wall thickness of 200 µm, and a smooth surface with roughness values of Ra_subscript=0.4 determined the innovative nature of this new solution. The required strict tolerance of the outer geometries of +20 µm, with a reproducibility of 12,000 pieces per year, were not economically feasible with conventional manufacturing technologies.

With the scalable LCM technology, however, series production level quality was achieved from the very first piece. Read all details about this successful application here.

Alumina Systems GmbH produces customized ceramic and metal-on-ceramic components for the semiconductor and medical industries. In addition to using conventional technologies, the company also uses LCM to accelerate product innovation. Through a function-oriented design, Alumina Systems GmbH has developed a ceramic distribution ring for semiconductor chip deposition that triples chip production volume compared to conventional solutions.

Demand for value-based applications is steadily increasing. Learn more about how 3D printing is enabling companies to develop revenue-generating, value-added products for their customers. Read more.

The LCM 3D printing process for ceramics enables the production of applications with the finest of details and highly complex internal structures while maintaining excellent surface quality. Some examples are micronozzles and valves with flow-optimized paths, miniature rotors and micro milling tools, electronic applications such as complex and precise substrates and medical sensors, instruments and surgical tools.

The industrial series production of complex ceramic components with microstructures requires a technology that meets every demand for high repeatability. Where conventional methods such as milling, drilling, grinding and ceramic injection molding clearly reach their limits, CeraFab printers offer scalable series production of parts with features as low as 100 µm.