Mechanical Engineering

Reliable ceramic components from Schunk Technical Ceramics

Mechanical Engineering Metrology Aerospace & Defense Ceramic Industry Burner Technology Metallurgy Chemical and Process Technology Surface Treatment

Top Performance in Mechanical Engineering

Additively manufactured machine components score not only with an economical manufacturing technology, but also with the excellent material properties of the high-performance ceramic RBSiC, which is particularly well suited for demanding applications.

High-performance machines require high-performance materials. Whether in aerospace, metrology or semiconductor technology, the quest is for minimized weights, increased load-bearing capacity and enhanced precision. When measuring machines reach the limits of the measurement accuracies to be realized, space applications require minimum weight at maximum load, or semiconductor systems enter the realm of atomic size during processing, ceramics are increasingly the only possible alternative to realize structural elements of the systems or individual process components. 

Technical properties - special features of advanced ceramics

Ceramics generally offer a good combination of properties for the aforementioned industries, as density is low and strength and stiffness are high. Selecting a ceramic material that also has low thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity, and good wear properties makes the FIT even better. Since the necessary components not infrequently require meter-scale dimensions, a material that does not shrink and thus has low stress is absolutely advantageous. RBSiC offers all this and has therefore proven to be the material of choice.

Customized solutions from Schunk Technical Ceramics

In principle, Schunk Technical Ceramics offers the market-leading RBSiC with the highest thermal and mechanical requirements. In addition, Schunk has all possible shaping processes for optimized manufacturing of the products in its portfolio (casting, extrusion, pressing, 3d-printing). Schunk is the world leader in 3D printing of ceramic machine components made of RBSiC. It is thus possible to manufacture frame structures, quills, sliders and chucks for measurement and semiconductor technology, as well as complex components such as optical benches for the space sector.

Our know-how for your application

In this context, 3D printing enables completely new dimensions, e.g. the production of monolithic components made of reaction-bonded silicon carbide in sizes up to 1.8m x 1.0m x 0.7m. Components can be manufactured immediately from CAD data, enabling short production lead and delivery times. Additive manufacturing is particularly exciting for the production of complex shaped components, e.g. bionic structures, where the use of other processes is uneconomical or impossible. With the prototyping option, you have the opportunity to test component design variations by having us produce a ready-to-use functional prototype for you based on a digital model using a 3D printer. We also offer support in the structural design of components using FEM (finite element method) to optimize reliability, weight savings and mechanical structural properties.

Advantages at a glance:

  • Component size 1.8mx1.0mx0.7m
  • Bionic structures, topology optimized
  • Strengths > 200 MPa and Weibull moduli >14
  • Thermal conductivity up to 200 W/mK
  • CTE = 3,9 µ/K
  • Reliability in small and large series
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