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Ceramic Manufacturing

In the simplest terms, ceramic manufacturing is the technique of creating ceramic materials that can support a wide range of high-tech engineering products and machineries. As their name implies, these items are made from ceramics, usually clay and other non-metallic materials. The material components are mixed with highly pure chemical solutions to meet the strength of the machine they support.

Applications

Typically, people associate ceramics with artistic and decorative pottery made from clay and other composite materials. Industrial ceramics, however, although made using the same materials, serve different purposes. Industrial ceramics are used to provide support to machines or machine parts, and to enhance the yield of manufacturing processes. Nowadays, ceramics are designed and engineered to be industrial-strength products. The ceramic industry has customers all across the board.

Industries that rely on ceramic parts and products include: aerospace, automotives, military and defense, medicine and healthcare, power generation, refractory, industrial, food processing, chemical, and construction.

Products Produced

Ceramic products can be broken up into four main categories: structural ceramics, refractories, whitewares, and technical ceramics, also known as engineering ceramics or advanced ceramics.

Structural ceramic products include things like brick shapes and ceramic tiles; refractory ceramic products include kiln linings and crucibles; whiteware products include bone china for dining and other decorative pottery. Finally, technical ceramic parts include high-performance ceramic parts used in aerospace, nuclear power, bio-medical, military, defense and automotive applications that require exceptional heat resistance or insulation, wear and corrosion resistance.

A fifth, lesser used ceramic product category is electrical ceramics, which includes items like ceramic insulators, capacitors, magnets, and superconductors.

Other products made via ceramic manufacturing include electric motor parts, ceramic magnet parts, ceramic balls, ceramic rods, ceramic blades and rotary bearings use with wind turbines and jet engines, ceramic insulators, ceramic spacers, shuttle tiles, floor tiles, ceramic tubes, prosthetic limbs, bone and teeth replacements, body armor, chemical and environment ceramics (fibers, membranes, and catalysts), and ceramic coatings surface protection and temperature regulation.

Ceramic Manufacturing – LSP Industrial Ceramics, Inc.	Ceramic Manufacturing – LSP Industrial Ceramics, Inc. – C-Mac International, LLC
Ceramic Manufacturing – LSP Industrial Ceramics, Inc. – C-Mac International, LLC	Ceramic Manufacturing – LSP Industrial Ceramics, Inc.

History

The concept of using ceramics to meet numerous needs in our daily lives and industrial production is not new. Rather, we have been using clay-based pottery for thousands of years. However, modern industrial ceramics can be traced back to as recently as the 1700s.

It all started in 1709 when Abraham Darby used coke combined with clay to improve the efficiency of the smelting process at his production facility. It was the first known and noted evidence of ceramic engineering in recent human history. Fifty years later, in Stoke-On-Trent, England, a man named Josiah Wedgwood opened the first ceramics manufacturing factory.

Ceramics got a big boost in 1888, when Austrian chemist Carl Josef Bayer developed a process for separating aluminum from bauxite ore. This process, which is still used today, made it easier and less expensive to create diverse ceramics. Earlier that decade, in 1880, brothers Pierre and Jacques Curie discovered piezoelectricity, which is a key property of electroceramics, sometimes known as piezoelectric ceramic manufacturing. In 1893, E.G. Acheson invented a process for creating synthetic silicon carbide, another popular ceramic material.

During the first half of the 20th century, chemists continued to discover new and refine existing ceramic materials, while engineers and manufacturers continued to fine-tune and expand the processes used to make ceramic products. Thanks to these improvements, ceramics were widely used in the production of arms and safety equipment during the World War II.

Today, the ceramic industry is reaching for new horizons, as chemists create more and more capable ceramic material compounds. For example, they have managed to synthesize hydroxyapatite, which is the natural mineral component of bone. By using this process to form ceramic material, manufacturers have been able to branch out into the field of bio-ceramics, and create products like synthetic bones and dental implants. What’s more, trains in Japan now use the Meissner effect with ceramic magnets to create levitation. With all these new developments and research, there is little for which ceramics may not be used in the future. l

Materials Process

Alumina Ceramics

Aluminum oxide is a heavily used material in industrial ceramics. Primarily leveraged in semiconductor compounds and electrical insulation systems, alumina ceramics can be labeled as the one of the most advanced and strongest materials. You can make this ceramic following a number of processes, such as isostatic pressing and injection molding. The best feature of these materials is that they provide hard surface and can be given a superior surface finish for their exact application requirement.

More technically, alumina is a material that is considered chemically stable due to its high ionic atomic bonding properties. Being a high ionic material, alumina works as a great electrical insulator. Another advantage of alumina is that it shows a strong resistance to corrosion and damage.

Steatite Ceramics

Made from magnesium silicate, steatite ceramics offer a more advanced option to work as an electrical insulator. These ceramics offer strength, durability, and insulation. Because of their outstanding insulation properties, steatite is used in the designing and formation of thermostats. This material is a key ceramic component in an array of residential and commercial electrical parts.

Zirconia Ceramics

Zirconia is the key element in brilliantly designed automotive oxygen sensors and dental ceramics. Having a high resistance to corrosion and breakage, this material is a great choice for the ceramic manufacturing of highly sensitive and well-used components. Wear and abrasion are definitely not concerns for manufacturers who use zirconium ceramics.

Silicon Carbide Ceramics

Silicon carbide ceramics are created using the modicums of silicon carbide under high pressure and intensity, in a process known as sintering. The ceramics that result from the combination of this material and this process are very strong and durable. For that reason, these ceramics are used in the production of automotive brakes and clutches.

Mullite Ceramics

Since mullite is a rare material on earth, it is an expensive substitute for commonplace ceramic applications. However, mullite ceramics have no match when strength and high temperature resistance are required. The material can be used for applications that work within high thermal expansion and low-pressure conditions while needing low thermal conductivity.

Clay

Ceramic parts produced using clay materials include earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, and bone china. It is not typically used to make industrial ceramic parts.

Process Details

The traditional manufacture process of industrial ceramic products follows multiple stages that include milling, batching, forming, drying, and sintering.

• Milling: In this process, a raw material is given a desired small shape. Milling of a raw material has different sub-stages, which include destructing, compressing and impacting.
• Batching: This stage of the process involves exercises like amassing the materials, according to the pre-defined ceramic preparation method. It also includes additive manufacture.
• Mixing: In this step, the ceramic ingredients are mixed through various procedures and machines. Often, they are turned into slurries through the addition of water or another liquid additive.
• Forming: After the base has been prepared, the actual formation of the ceramic components begins. There are several forming processes that manufacturers use to create ceramic parts. These include processes such as slip casting, pressing, extrusion, and injection molding.

For mass production, slip casting works quite well. It’s especially well-suited for complex shapes, thin walls, and sanitary ware. Pressing methods like hot pressing and hot isostatic pressing work best with advanced ceramics. Molding processes like extrusion and injection molding work best in the creation of more simple ceramic mold parts, like pipes and tubes.

• Drying: After the ceramic has been formed, it is allowed to dry out completely. This process solidifies the shape of the ceramic.
• Sintering: To complete the forming process, manufacturers put the ceramic piece, known as a greenware, in an extremely oven or chimney. Sintering strengthens a ceramic part by causing its oxides to bond and desificate. During this chemical change, both ionic and covalent bonds are formed and create the ceramic’s crystal structure. This process involves cations; the ionic structure is determined when you calculate the difference of electronegativity between cations and anions.

After forming is finished, manufacturers can put ceramic parts through secondary processes like glazing, polishing, grinding, cutting, or machining.

Design

During the ceramic manufacture process, the key concern of product designers is to create something that fits well with the design and engineering of the application. To do so, they consider factors like the materials, which all offer different qualities, very carefully. Oxides (ex. silica, zirconia) and non-oxides (ex. silicon nitride, silicon carbide), for instance, hold different properties of translucency, hardness, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, wear, weight, microwave absorption and heat insulation. Aluminum oxide and boron carbide, for example, are both exceptionally hard, and therefore useful in armoring applications.

Machinery Used

To manufacture ceramics, suppliers rely on the assistant of machines like ovens for sintering, silicone or metal molds, rubber extrusion machines, injection molding machines, and computer programs for creating blueprints.

Any ceramic manufacturing system can be customized to fit the application(s) on which it is working. Customizations are typically based on factors like required production volume and speed, quality requirements, shape complexity, and secondary processes.

Benefits

The long-term benefits of ceramics include reliable part performance, which often triples that of other materials, making ceramic materials a more cost-effective choice in many applications.

In addition, ceramic-made parts offer a high melting point, oxidation resistance, high hardness and light weight. They are also a bit chameleon-like; many of the desirable properties of various metals, polymers and rubbers can be displayed in ceramic materials. For example, ceramics are often as corrosion resistant as stainless steel; some varieties can be harder than titanium; some can be injection-molded or cast like polymers and rubbers, and many are lightweight like aluminum or polymers.

Advanced ceramics are able to outperform metals in many situations, especially in harsh environments, and are also sometimes able to conduct electricity better than copper. There are a wide variety of products that are made possible solely by ceramics, such as space shuttles and missile cones, which would crack without heat-insulating ceramic casings.

Another advantage of ceramics is the fact that they can be used in environmental applications to absorb toxic materials and decrease pollution or to help with water purification.

Things to Consider

Ceramic products are varied and complex, and it takes a good industry guide and manufacturer to get high quality solutions upon which you can rely. More than a good contract manufacturer, though, you want the right manufacturer, one who can match all your specifications, work within your timeframe and budget, and who wants to work hard for you. The best way to find this manufacturer is by browsing the list of suppliers we have listed near the top of this page. Check out their websites, then reach out to one or more of them for a quote.

Ceramic Manufacturing Types

• Alumina ceramic, or aluminum oxide, is an extremely durable and cost effective option used in many industrial and commercial applications.
• Alumina Crucibles is a type of crucible made from alumina, also called aluminum oxide, which is the same material used to produce aluminum metal. The ceramic form of alumina is frequently employed for production of alumina crucibles because of its strength, low cost and ability to withstand temperatures upwards of 3272°F.
• Ceramic armor is an extremely hard nonmetal body having good fracture toughness, extreme wear and corrosion resistance and a high capacity to absorb ballistic impacts.
• Ceramic balls are rolling spherical elements made of inorganic, nonmetallic materials that are used applications involving rotary or linear motion in addition to a number of other functions.
• Ceramic bearings are smooth, lightweight and high tolerance, leading to an increased maximum rotational speed.
  
• Ceramic bushings are extremely reliable and hardy, and are often made from alumina ceramics or Steatite.
  
• Ceramic coatings are, although expensive, able to give coated objects a life of up to 10 times longer.
  
• Ceramic composites are raw ceramics mixed with other materials to achieve desired properties. Ceramic composites can be significantly stronger and more resistant to damage.
  
• Ceramic crucibles are simply crucibles made from ceramic material, like kiln-fired clay.
• Ceramic grinding is a design and manufacturing process whereby an abrasive is used for material removal, dimensioning and finishing of ceramic components and products.
• Ceramic insulators are used for a wide variety of applications, because of very good electrical conductivity.
  
• Ceramic machining involves the design and manufacture of ceramic precision components.
  
• Ceramic manufacturers are companies that make ceramic materials.
  
• Ceramic rods are solid, cylindrical ceramic products.
• Ceramic spacers provide equal and constant spacing between materials or objects.
• Ceramic tubes are hollow, cylindrical ceramic products, often available with single or multiple bores.
  
• Ceramic washers are used for their high abrasion, temperature and corrosion resistance.
• Industrial ceramics involve the use of non-metallic, inorganic, mineral compounds in the production of large, in size or quantity, ceramics to be used in a wide range of contexts due to their desirable high resistance and insulating qualities.
• Silicon carbide, or carborundum, is an extremely hard ceramic composed of carbon and silicon atoms bonded in a crystal lattice.
• Sapphire machining is same basic process that is used to diamond ground any dense alumina oxide material is used in Sapphire machining. Sapphire is an anisotropic, rhombohedral crystal form of Aluminum Oxide. Some common properties of sapphire include thermal expansion and hardness.

Ceramics Properties