Technical Ceramics

Technical ceramics are ceramics whose properties have been optimised for their technical purpose. Depending on the area of application, we speak of structural ceramics, construction ceramics, engineering ceramics, functional ceramics, electrical ceramics, cutting ceramics or bioceramics, and generally also of high-performance ceramics, which is defined in DIN V ENV 12212. Depending on the specific application conditions, silicate ceramic, oxide ceramic or non-oxide ceramic materials are used.

The term high-performance ceramics also describes the usually high demands on the properties and the microstructure on which they are based. The latter in turn requires a high purity of the raw materials, a narrowly defined grain size distribution and often special firing processes.

Fraunhofer-Center HTL deals with both material and process development of technical ceramics, which usually go hand in hand. This starts with thermodynamic calculations for material selection, microstructure simulations (especially for hybrid materials) and raw material analysis, covers all common manufacturing processes including 3D printing and includes debinding as well as densification processes (sintering, melt infiltration and pressure sintering) under all common furnace atmospheres with regard to product quality as well as energy efficiency.

Fraunhofer-Center HTL has extensive experience with all common ceramic materials. The basis for this are specially developed, systematic procedures for material development and process optimisation (ICME), which are continuously transferred to new material- or process-specific requirements.