The way humans have manufactured goods has changed significantly throughout history. Since the dawn of industrial society over 200 years ago, three industrial revolutions have taken man from animal power to mechanized production, mass production and into the digital age. Now, a fourth technological revolution is creating a further shift in the way we think about manufacturing. As we progress from a society of mass production to mass customization, additive manufacturing (AM) technology is contributing greatly to this trend. Haim Levi, VP Manufacturing and Defense markets at XJet Ltd., looks at why this ground-breaking technology is gaining traction in technical ceramics.
Additive manufacturing, the process of putting thin layers of material on top of one another, has been trailblazing since its inception a few decades ago. Continually improving in quality, build size, material choice and applications, plastic and metal 3D printing have been slashing time-to-market and production costs in the automotive, aerospace, healthcare, dental, electronics, and machinery industries – to name but a few – for years. The technology has evolved from predominantly producing prototypes to manufacturing end-use parts that improve products by reducing weight, production times, tooling costs or delivering complex geometries. Adoption of the technology in technical ceramics is still in its infancy but has experienced a surge following implementation by several innovative users for some promising applications.
Rising market potential
Ceramics additive manufacturing is a young specialty that emerged from the more mature plastics and metal AM sectors, which have been around for several decades. This fresh discipline focuses on real parts for end user applications and is receiving growing levels of acceptance from leading manufacturers. It also shows impressive potential, as evidenced by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4 percent from 2015 to 2017.1 Experts predict that the global market for 3D printing of technical ceramics will rise from $174 million in 2017 to $544 million in 2022,2 and could be worth $3.1 billion3 by 2027. Technical ceramics AM will complement and, in certain cases, replace traditional manufacturing methods such as ceramic injection molding (CIM), hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and various casting methods, especially when facing short to medium runs of complex parts. This will provide huge savings in time and cost, while retaining part performance.
In addition, ceramics additive manufacturing will enable a whole new range of applications and uses that were not possible before, such as conformal cooling channels in mold inserts, personalized implants and other medical supporting devices, as well as creating complex geometries that will reduce part weight while optimizing strength.
Additive manufacturing today
Technical ceramics, also known as engineering, industrial or advanced ceramics are used in a vast number of industries today due to their extraordinary properties such as high temperature resistance, toughness, strength, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance and more. For certain applications, ceramics surpass metal capabilities and are in growing demand in leading industries.
Technical ceramic parts are produced using several traditional methods, including injection molding, HIP, extrusion, casting and more. All require tools which can be expensive – particularly when calculating cost per part for short runs. Additive manufacturing has proven to be a valuable replacement of traditional manufacturing methods by eliminating the tooling process, resulting in significant time and cost savings. Also, as an additive process, huge benefits are gained in design freedom. In a subtractive manufacturing process, access to internal cavities of parts can be restricted, limiting tool paths. Conversely, with additive manufacturing complex geometries are as easy to produce as simple parts. Furthermore, it allows multiple parts to be built simultaneously on the same build tray. This could include different design iterations, different size options, parts for an assembly, or a repeated control part for functional testing. All available within a matter of hours – and all manufacturers need is an additive manufacturing system and a digital file.
Log in to your free materialstoday.com profile to access the article.
The way humans have manufactured goods has changed significantly throughout history. Since the dawn of industrial society over 200 years ago, three industrial revolutions have taken man from animal power to mechanized production, mass production and into the digital age. Now, a fourth technological revolution is creating a further shift in the way we think about manufacturing. As we progress from a society of mass production to mass customization, additive manufacturing (AM) technology is contributing greatly to this trend. Haim Levi, VP Manufacturing and Defense markets at XJet Ltd., looks at why this ground-breaking technology is gaining traction in technical ceramics.
Additive manufacturing, the process of putting thin layers of material on top of one another, has been trailblazing since its inception a few decades ago. Continually improving in quality, build size, material choice and applications, plastic and metal 3D printing have been slashing time-to-market and production costs in the automotive, aerospace, healthcare, dental, electronics, and machinery industries – to name but a few – for years. The technology has evolved from predominantly producing prototypes to manufacturing end-use parts that improve products by reducing weight, production times, tooling costs or delivering complex geometries. Adoption of the technology in technical ceramics is still in its infancy but has experienced a surge following implementation by several innovative users for some promising applications.
Rising market potential
Ceramics additive manufacturing is a young specialty that emerged from the more mature plastics and metal AM sectors, which have been around for several decades. This fresh discipline focuses on real parts for end user applications and is receiving growing levels of acceptance from leading manufacturers. It also shows impressive potential, as evidenced by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4 percent from 2015 to 2017.1 Experts predict that the global market for 3D printing of technical ceramics will rise from $174 million in 2017 to $544 million in 2022,2 and could be worth $3.1 billion3 by 2027. Technical ceramics AM will complement and, in certain cases, replace traditional manufacturing methods such as ceramic injection molding (CIM), hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and various casting methods, especially when facing short to medium runs of complex parts. This will provide huge savings in time and cost, while retaining part performance.
In addition, ceramics additive manufacturing will enable a whole new range of applications and uses that were not possible before, such as conformal cooling channels in mold inserts, personalized implants and other medical supporting devices, as well as creating complex geometries that will reduce part weight while optimizing strength.
Additive manufacturing today
Technical ceramics, also known as engineering, industrial or advanced ceramics are used in a vast number of industries today due to their extraordinary properties such as high temperature resistance, toughness, strength, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance and more. For certain applications, ceramics surpass metal capabilities and are in growing demand in leading industries.
Technical ceramic parts are produced using several traditional methods, including injection molding, HIP, extrusion, casting and more. All require tools which can be expensive – particularly when calculating cost per part for short runs. Additive manufacturing has proven to be a valuable replacement of traditional manufacturing methods by eliminating the tooling process, resulting in significant time and cost savings. Also, as an additive process, huge benefits are gained in design freedom. In a subtractive manufacturing process, access to internal cavities of parts can be restricted, limiting tool paths. Conversely, with additive manufacturing complex geometries are as easy to produce as simple parts. Furthermore, it allows multiple parts to be built simultaneously on the same build tray. This could include different design iterations, different size options, parts for an assembly, or a repeated control part for functional testing. All available within a matter of hours – and all manufacturers need is an additive manufacturing system and a digital file.
