3D Printing ceramics are ideal materials for parts that need to be corrosion and mechanical wear and tear resistant even at high temperatures. 3D Printing ceramics include aluminum oxide (alumina), aluminum nitride, silicon carbide and silicon nitride, to name the most common types. And it is now possible to 3D print parts made of these special or advanced engineering ceramics.

These modern industrial ceramics can be made to be as tough as the hardest metal, or turned into superconductors, or can be made into porous structures for membrane and filter technology. These materials are referred to as technical, advanced, industrial or engineering ceramics. They are special ceramics that are used for a wide range of specialised applications in different industries. From automotive, aviation, aerospace, electronics, energy to the biomedical field.

Alumina

Alumina (aluminum oxide) is the most widely used of the technical ceramics, it is also the most cost effective (cheapest) material of this class. Alumina has many excellent properties the most important being: high levels of hardness (nearly three times the hardness of stainless steel) as well as good corrosion and temperature resistance. Components made from alumina are electrically insulating and puncture-proof and are therefore suitable for a wide range of applications, such as substrates in the electronics industry.

Silicon carbide

Silicon carbide is a hard (four times harder than stainless steel) and when silicon infiltrated silicon carbide becomes one of the world’s hardest metals. It is much lighter and harder than other ceramics and are resistant to acids.Silicon carbide, is the most corrosion-resistant ceramic. It is used in mechanical seals and pump parts, car brakes, car clutches and ceramic plates in bulletproof vests are made from this material. Aluminum nitride The high mechanical properties of this ceramic, combined with high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation, are highly recommended in electronics industry.

Silicon nitride

The Silicon Nitride is among the hardest and most resistant technical ceramics. It exhibits a very low density, a high fracture toughness, good flexural strength, and excellent thermal shock resistance. Its application is found in the components of pumps and valves, semiconductors among others.

Technical ceramics are great materials for applications that require hardness and high heat resistance. These materials are hard to form using traditional methods. Additive manufacturing can be the impetus to more widely use of ceramic materials in the industry.