Traditionally ceramitec is the platform for engineering innovations in the manufacturing of components in technical ceramics. For the suppliers of raw materials ceramitec is their leading trade fair and most important platform for presenting new formulations.

Technical ceramics is the most complex field in the ceramics sector. Both in terms of the technical processes involved and the materials used, for example oxides, carbides, nitrides as well as compounds.
The raw materials used range from micron to submicron and nano sizes and this has to be taken into account in all the stages in the technical processes. In many formulations purity is of the utmost importance. This has to be secured through low-contamination manufacturing processes and often also clean-room technology. The properties of ceramic components are influenced by these factors and can therefore be controlled and optimized in a targeted way with regard to the specific applications for which the components are used.

Improved material properties and also new materials keep emerging through applied research and practically oriented development work. One example here is transparent ceramics, a new development that went into industrial production only in the last two years. This type of ceramics is extremely resistant to mechanical and chemical attack and it also has high strength and good visual qualities.

Technical ceramics can be the right answer in ceramic process technology where resistance to abrasion and corrosion is a factor, or high-temperature performance. It also serves in many other applications, such as medicine, medical technology, electronics, energy technology, the automotive industry, aerospace and many more, in each case it is able to deliver custom solutions where components are subjected to exceptional stresses.

With the advent of additive manufacturing technologies in ceramics further design options are opening up as regards the complexity of components. Initially there were only additive manufacturing processes for small components of oxide ceramics. Now, however, large components in silicon carbide are also being produced. In this field there is still much development work to be done, in order to be able to offer an even wider spectrum of materials. But already reliable solutions suitable for industrial applications are available on the market for certain materials and applications.

At ceramitec 2015 material solutions in the field of technical ceramics are being presented under the umbrella of “Ceramic Applications” on around 400 square meters of space. Respected names such as Rauschert/DE, FCT Ingenieurkeramik/DE, Lapp Insulators Alumina/DE, DoCeram/DE, Fraunhofer IKTS+HTL, Innovnano/PT, 3DCeram/FR and Formatec/NL have already signed up to take part. They are joined by suppliers of process technology.

Additive manufacturing is one of the processing options in this area. It offers entirely new levels of freedom in terms of component design and can be implemented without the need for expensive tools for shaping. The exhibitors at ceramitec 2015 will also be showcasing their innovations in this section, too.

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