Hybrid additive manufacturing of precision engineered ceramic components

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a hybrid additive/subtractive manufacturing platform for the production of high density ceramic components.

Design/methodology/approach

Fabrication of near-net shape components is achieved using 96 per cent Al3O2 ceramic paste extrusion and a planarizing machining operations. Sacrificial polymer support can be used to aid the creation of overhanging or internal features. Post-processing using a variety of machining operations improves tolerances and fidelity between the component and CAD model while reducing defects.

Findings

This resultant three-dimensional monolithic ceramic components demonstrated post sintering tolerances of ±100 µm, surface roughness’s of ∼1 µm Ra, densities in excess of 99.7 per cent and three-point bending strength of 221 MPa.

Originality/value

This method represents a novel approach for the digital fabrication of ceramic components, which provides improved manufacturing tolerances, part quality and capability over existing additive manufacturing approaches.

Citation

Hinton, J., Basu, D., Mirgkizoudi, M., Flynn, D., Harris, R. and Kay, R. (2019), "Hybrid additive manufacturing of precision engineered ceramic components", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 25 No. 6, pp. 1061-1068. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-01-2019-0025