Ceramic 3D printing

Ceramic 3D printing with IntrinSiC®

First Silicon Carbide Industrial 3D Printing Provider in Volume Production - IntrinSiC®, the novel 3D printing process from Schunk Technical Ceramics, is used to additively manufacture ceramic components complex shapes, high quality and very large dimensions that is unmatched in the industry. Schunk is the first supplier to have 5 years of experience in serial production of 3D printed SiC ceramic including the manufacture of defense applications, mechanical engineering components and thermal applications.

3D printing in series production

Schunk Technical Ceramics takes additive manufacturing to a new level

First Silicon Carbide Industrial 3D Printing Provider in Volume Production

3D printing processes can be used to produce components from silicon carbide (BSiCR), marketed as IntrinSiC®. In doing so, Schunk has succeeded in raising the material properties of IntrinSiC® to the well-known level of conventional RB-SiC from Schunk. In addition to very good thermal shock resistance and thermal conductivity, IntrinSiC® is characterized by very high strength values, high reliability (high Weibull modulus), high oxidation, and corrosion resistance. Compared to other materials such as steel, the almost diamond-hard but lightweight ceramic offers extreme dimensional stability with a very low coefficient of thermal expansion. Compared to similar processes, 3D printing can produce significantly more complex and larger monolithic components (up to a size of 1.8 m x 1.0 m x 0.7 m). The new manufacturing process is particularly interesting for manufacturers who do not want to forego the usual high strength and reliability of RB-SiC for large, complex components. IntrinSiC® offers the globally unique possibility of producing 3D-printed RB-SiC consistent with material produced by conventional manufacturing processes. IntrinSiC® therefore provides customers from a wide range of industries with completely new possibilities, for example, in industrial precision and metrology. The high level of homogeneity also guarantees no impairment due to cracks in these extremely large components.

Process of additive manufacturing with silicon carbide

The IntrinSiC® 3D printing process is a powder bed printing process. In this process, the print data of a 3D model is broken down into individual 2D layers. A moving print head applies the binder to a powder layer, causing individual particles to bond. After the application of another powder layer, these sequences are repeated and the 3D object is successively built up.

Competitive advantages through innovation

As a first mover in this sector, Schunk also offers its expert knowledge as a service. We support our customers in the constructive design of components using FEM (Finite Element Method), Design-for-Manufacturing as well as topology optimization in order to improve reliability, weight savings, and mechanical structural properties. Optimized components can be manufactured immediately thanks to the CAD data, which enables short production lead and delivery times.

Freedom of Design & Construction

Maximum Design and Construction Freedom

In the ceramic 3D-printing process, structural elements of plants as well as individual process components can be realized with maximum design and construction freedom. The unique, patented production process offers numerous procedural advantages. Instead of costly mold construction with complex milling processes, which limits the end product on many levels, additive manufacturing opens up new design potential. Thus, not only complex structures with undercuts and cavities, but also particularly large objects can be realized in the additive manufacturing process. In particular, the production of structures in large dimensions is one of the unique selling points of IntrinSiC®.

The sustainable manufacturing process for technical components

Ceramic 3D-printing is also an attractive process from a sustainability perspective. For example, users of IntrinSiC® succeed in significantly reducing their CO2 footprint thanks to ceramic 3D-printing. Around 25 percent of CO2 emissions can be saved compared to conventional production processes. This figure can be increased to as much as 70 percent if the reusability of the excess powder is factored into the calculation. In this way, you can not only better achieve the company's internal sustainability goals, but also make an effective contribution to a responsible approach to our planet.

The technology of the future

The demands placed on high-performance components are constantly growing. Whether in metrology, aerospace or semiconductor technology, the demand for high-performance materials that combine minimum weight with maximum load-bearing capacity is continuously increasing. Maximum precision is also required in the innovative application areas. Measuring machines, for example, have to function at the limits of the measurement accuracies to be realized, and semiconductor equipment down to the atomic scale. In the development of space applications, on the other hand, the focus is on maximum weight reduction with high mechanical resistance.

Advantages

This is what Schunk 3D printing technology offers you:

Material properties at the comparably high level of the well-known Schunk RBSiC
Components up to a size of 1.8 m x 1.0 m x 0.7 m
Maximum design freedom incl. bionic designs
No tooling necessary
Design changes with the click of a mouse => short time to market
Printing directly from CAD data
Realization of cavities and undercuts
Economical material consumption
Short production times
Reverse engineering
Ready to go with a single unit prototype to serial production in the thousands of pieces.

Brochure: IntrinSiC® 3D-printing

Create design in diamond-like hardness

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