Material Extrusion of Ceramics
Material Extrusion
We manufacture technical ceramics by means of material extrusion
In the material extrusion of ceramics, a plastic ceramic mass is continuously conveyed through a nozzle that can be moved in X and Y directions. The resulting strand is then deposited in paths along a component geometry. The paths were previously calculated automatically using a CAD file of the component and translated for the machine control of the 3D printer. The deposited lanes always fill one layer of the part at a time. When a layer is finished, the system moves up on the Z-axis by the distance of the layer thickness and starts the next layer, and so on, until the entire part has been produced.
The various material extrusion processes can be basically distinguished according to the type of solidification of the printed material.
In the first category, solidification is caused by drying, e.g. evaporation of water. A classic example would be an extrudable paste made of clay. This is cold plastic extrusion.
In the second category, solidification results from a phase change, e.g. when a liquid melt cools down, as is the case with Fused Feedstock Deposition (FFD). This category also includes the use of thermoreversible hydrogels and the UV-curing of photopolymers. This category is called thermoplastic extrusion.
Fused Feedstock Deposition (FFD)
3D extrusion technology based on commercially available ceramic injection molding feedstocks.
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
Also known as Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). Recently, filaments with ceramic content have also been used.
Cold plastic extrusion
3D extrusion of cold plastic ceramic pastes with a wide range of materials.