Body armor have to provide one thing above all else: safety. Fitted with hard ballistic plates from Schunk, they will meet the requirements of the highest protection class. The CarSIK-B4C material makes them true lightweights compared to plates made of conventional armoring materials such as aluminum oxide ceramics or armor steel.
Body armor that meet protection class 4 (level IV) mean an extra load of up to 30 kilograms (66 pounds). Every pound less is a genuine relief. This is precisely where Schunk comes in with its monolithic, curved plates made of CarSIK-B4C. The ceramic SiC/B4C hybride material, also known as RB B4C (reaction-bonded boron carbide), impresses with its higher hardness yet low density. Hard ballistic components made of CarSIK-B4C are about 25 percent lighter than those made of aluminum oxide. “The plates are predestined for lightweight solutions that offer maximum protection,” explains Rainer Dörrie, Sales Manager for Ballistics at Schunk. Combined with a suitable fibre backing, they can stop high-impact projectiles even after taking multiple hits. They ensure that armor-piercing rounds break apart on impact, dispersing the kinetic energy over a wider area.
Versatile armoring solutions for land and air vehicles
Schunk’s advanced silicon carbide materials are also the first choice when it comes to armor-plating military land and air vehicles. “We can produce monolithic plates in a wide variety of geometries and our polygonal plates are ideally suited for the dimensionally accurate lining of large, complex surfaces,” says Rainer Dörrie. CarSIK-B4C plates and elements can also be used to save weight in armor-plated aircraft, while benefiting from the material’s high hardness. Offering high hardness and good cost efficiency, the material CarSIK-GD (reaction-bonded silicon carbide with reduced metallic silicon content) impresses when it comes to armoring land vehicles.
Thanks to its leading manufacturing technology, Schunk can flexibly develop hard ballistic components as prototypes while delivering large series volumes in reproducible high quality and on schedule. More than 25 years of experience in developing and producing technical ceramics help make Schunk a pioneering development partner for tailor-made customer solutions.