Lithoz is set to introduce three new variants of its ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) materials.
The company, which specialises in Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing, will present the updates at Ceramitec in Munich on 24-26th March, alongside industrial applications geared towards serial production including an atomic layer deposition (ALD) ring for the semiconductor space, and casting cores used to build single crystal turbine blades for next-gen aircraft engines.
The first material, LithaLox, is said to combine the advantages a high-purity alumina with the processability of the more versatile variants. Improvements include printable wall thicknesses of up to 12mm and an increased solid loading of 55 Vol% offering lower and more uniform shrinkage behaviour and outstanding bend strength.
The new LithaCon zirconia variant provides upgrades to fracture toughness and cleanability, and a significantly increased Weibull modulus, which is said to reduce quality deviation in finished parts. Lithoz claims this optimised formulation is ideal for medical parts featuring thread geometries, such as endosseous screws of dental implants.
The third material is the medical-grade LithaCon ATZ, targeted towards the Med-Tech industry. Alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ) is a biocompatible material which combines the best material properties of alumina and zirconia and can achieve wall thicknesses up to 17 mm and a bending strength of measured 993 MPa.
Johannes Homa, Lithoz CEO, commented:"Our LCM technology has matured a lot and most inquiries for parts get straight to the point. It’s all about the application and its repeatability in serial production. Our persistent focus on creating real-world components leveraged by our Ceramic 3D Factory network gives a solid blueprint for projects across many industries."
While not a new variant, Lithoz is also presenting its Aluminium Nitride capabilities for ultra-precise sintered cooling devices with CTE closely matching that of silicon. The company says this material will be of interest to manufacturers within the semicon industry.
Application spotlight: 15-inch 3D printed gas distribution ring for semiconductor applications
How Plasway harnessed additive manufacturing for the manufacture of ring segments for a semiconductor gas distribution ring is used in the atomic layer deposition (ALD) process.
