If there is one trade show where visitors can discover the latest trends and see who is doing what in the ceramics industry, it is certainly ceramitec. Recognized as the leading international trade fair for high-performance ceramics, the event has, over the years, highlighted the growing role of technical ceramics and additive manufacturing.
Among the many AM companies that have strengthened their positioning on this platform is Lithoz.
The Austrian ceramic 3D printing expert will introduce three material upgrades for serial production: LithaLox, LithaCon zirconia variant, and a Medical Grade LithaCon ATZ.
Key features of each material and vertical industries targeted
The LithaLox and the LithaCon zirconia variant are designed for industrial production, while the Medical Grade LithaCon ATZ, as the name implies, is built for medical 3D printing applications.
The new LithaLox combines the advantages of high-purity alumina with the uncomplicated processability of the more versatile variants. Improvements include achievable wall thicknesses of up to 12 mm and an increased solid loading of 55 Vol%. This high degree of filling results in a lower and more uniform shrinkage behaviour and outstanding ceramic properties such as bending strength observed in Internal trials.
The new LithaCon zirconia variant has been made to further minimize variation of final parts when production runs at industrial level. Apart from the upgrade in fracture toughness and cleanability, visitors involved in zirconia applications will be captivated by significantly increased Weibull modulus, indicating the variation of bending strength values within produced lots.
In industrial terms, the improved Weibull modulus as a reliability parameter is directly linked to a significantly reduced rate of quality deviation from targeted values of finished parts. In particular, the optimized formulation of LithaCon results in an excellent material fit for parts featuring thread geometries, such as endosseous screws of dental implants.
The medical-grade LithaCon ATZ will help medical part manufacturers and healthcare professionals produce applications ranging from dental implants and surgical tools to other medical devices such as shavers or burs.
Alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ) combines the best material properties of alumina and zirconia. Based on Lithoz’s ISO 13485 certified quality management, the new medical grade material offers perfect biocompatibility, wall thicknesses of up to 17 mm and a bending strength of measured 993 MPa.
These launches aim to reflect Lithoz’s ultimate goal of helping industries achieve serial production in ceramic 3D printing. Their development underscores the role of Lithoz’s global “Ceramic 3D Factory” network of experienced LCM contract manufacturers and research institutes as a key driver of the current pace at which OEMs worldwide are adopting LCM-based ceramic 3D printing.
Visitors at ceramitec could discover these materials alonh with a wide range of ceramic 3D printed parts produced by the company’s partners and customers. These parts may include a range of 46 ceramic casting cores used for building single crystal turbine blades for next-gen aircraft engines produced by Safran Aircraft Engines, a complex atomic layer deposition (ALD) ring, the first patient-specific ceramic earmoulds for hearing aids, 132 zirconia dental implants on one single CeraFab S65 Medical platformer the many sintered aluminium nitride parts to name a few.
Whether it is at the Lithoz booth (Hall 6, Booth 332), or the stands of contract manufacturers and partners using LCM technology, ceramitec will reflect how LCM technology has matured and is able to deliver repeatable production.
The booths of contract manufacturers and partners using LCM technology include:
Alumina Systems (A6.323C), FGK (Germany, A5.219), Fraunhofer IKTS (A5.213N), Mitsui Kinzoku (Japan, A5.205), Sinto Advanced Ceramics Europe (Germany, A6.220), Steinbach (Germany, A6.229), Yugyokuen Ceramics (Japan, A6.529).
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