Materials

Combining Ceramics and Metals in a Single Resin 3D Printing Process

Last week, the city of Hanover, Germany, hosted the annual Hannover Messe, an event dedicated to the manufacturing industry and digital transformation. From robotics to artificial intelligence, the focus is on automation, technology, and digitalization. And among the exhibitors a

CeraMMAM
3Dnatives

Last week, the city of Hanover, Germany, hosted the annual Hannover Messe, an event dedicated to the manufacturing industry and digital transformation. From robotics to artificial intelligence, the focus is on automation, technology, and digitalization. And among the exhibitors and visitors, there are several additive manufacturing players.

One initiative showcased at the event caught our attention: a project led by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Called CeraMMAM (short for Ceramic Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing), it uses a universal binder system for resin-based technology to print multiple materials in a single build tank. The goal? To be able to combine ceramics with metals, or even different types of ceramics. This would allow for the precise combination of mechanical, electrical, or thermal properties.

The researchers’ approach is based on photopolymerization. A photosensitive resin is exposed to light of a specific wavelength, causing it to harden. The difference is that this resin contains ceramic or metal particles, as well as a binder that holds the different materials together. Debinding and sintering steps will then be necessary to obtain the final parts.