The injection of Ceramic and Metal Injection Molding CIM and MIM binder slurries (ceramic and metal feedstocks) in 3D printed durable and/or sacrificial molds (or printed by high temperature ceramic and metal jetting) has unique benefits in comparison to direct printing of highly loaded 3D photopolymer resins with ceramic and metal powders, to say:

  • full range of technical ceramic and metal slurries can be injected using CIM and MIM feedstocks in 3D printed molds with low cost printers
  • higher sintering density, lower microporosity vs metal Selective Laser Sintering SLS and direct printing by SLA or jetting of 3D resins highly loaded with ceramic and metal powders 
  • less productive limitations, much faster and ecological debinding without solvents, with water for faster debinding and sintering times without limitation of thickness vs. ceramic and metal printing by SLA and jetting
  • increased isotropy vs metal Selective Laser Sintering SLS and direct printing of ceramics and metals by SLA and jetting 
  • lower costs since our soluble 3D resins allow the printing of sacrificial or durable molds with affordable SLA, DLP and LCD printers with prices ranging from 200 to 2000 Euros and with traditional  injection molding machines and traditional ceramic and metal feedstocks

    Our ceramic and metal powder slurries contain eco friendly binders and can be injected in 3D printed molds made with our durable and/or sacrifical 3D resins, and can also be custom designed for direct printing systems such as jetting at high temperature:

    • excellent dispersion and injection flow of micron and submicron ceramics with additions up to 65% volumen concentrations
    • very high resolution
    • high quality 
    • controlled and reproducible process shrinkage
    • minimum expansion coefficient and wide temperature interval of debinding to prevent micro-fractures
    • very high resolution of 20 microns of final products
    • environmentally friendly materials and debinding
    • partially water soluble for microcraking prevention

    Ceramic and metal slurries can be supplied as solids at room temperature in metal cartridges of 25 mm external diameter for direct injection in low cost manual injection machines such as this type of manual injection equipment:

    3Dresyns ceramic and metal slurrries use combinations of eco friendly solid binders at room temperature, which become liquids with excellent flow at injection temperature. They are partially water soluble to facilitate de debinding in water, by creating micropores for defect free debinding, followed by thermal debinding (two step debinding) and sintering . The insoluble binder portion helps to retain the shape during the whole debinding process.

    Types of custom designed ceramic and metal slurries:

    • Ceramic Slurry CS Al2O3 Alumina 
    • Ceramic Slurry CS ZrO2 Zirconia 
    • Ceramic Slurry CS YSZ Yttria stabilized zirconia 
    • Ceramic Slurry CS SiC/SiSiC Silicon carbide 
    • Ceramic Slurry CS Si3N4 Silicon nitride 
    • Ceramic Slurry CS HA Hydroxy Apatite
    • Metal Slurry MS 316L Stainless Steel 
    • Metal Slurry MS Ti Titanium
    • Metal Slurry MS W-Mo alloy Wolfram(Tungsten) Molybdenum
    • Metal Slurry MS Co-Cr alloyCobalt Chrome 

    We can custom design and supply ceramic slurrries of alumina, zirconia, SiC/SiSiC, Si3N4, hydroxy apatite, and metal slurries of stainless steel, titanium, Wo-Mo, Co-Cr, etc.

    Discover our ready to inject, debind, and sinter:

    Do you want to produce exotic 3D materials? including nanopowders, nanoparticles, nanofibers, micron / micronized powders, microfibers, etc? with specific shapes and sizes to meet your specifications? We can custom design and make them ready to inject in cartridges.

    Discover our porfolio of nano and micron materials which can be supplied as "solids slurries" in cartridges ready to inject with economical manual injection equipment.

    Typical Properties of Technical Ceramics

    Material

    Properties and Benefits

    Main Applications

    Alumina Al2O3

    High hardness and mechanical strength under compressive loading, excellent thermal stability, wear resistance, low electrical conductivity ( high frequency electrical insulator), high temperature, chemical  and corrosion resistance, good mechanical strength up to 1000ºC, high expansion coefficient, thermal shock resistance, excellent wear resistance, good anti-plasma

    Excellent electric insulator products, sand and shot blasting nozzles, welding shield and nozzles for laser cutting guns, tubes with single hole to multi core/hole cavities, seals, textile wear parts and thread guides, piston and sleeves for chemical pumps, corrosion resistance components, ceramic coldplate for power electronic cooling, heating element fixtures, surgical instruments

    Zirconia ZrO2

    High hardness, mechanical strength and toughness, fracture toughness, hardness, wear resistance, good frictional behaviour, non-magnetic, electrical insulation, low thermal conductivity, , modulus of elasticity similar to steel, coefficient of thermal expansion similar to iron, excellent wear resistance, high fracture toughness, low thermal conductivity, good chemical and corrosion resistance in acids and alkalis

    Pump parts, dies, knives, cutting blades, spikes, scissors, wear parts for wear applications, valves and pump components,ceramic plain, balls and roller bearings, tubes, fixtures for high temperature applications, copper tube extruding & reducer diez, thermal insulation components, wear resistance and cutting blades, Dental restorations and appliances, fuel cell components, structural ceramics

    Yttria stabilized zirconia YSZ/Y-TZP

    Outstanding hardness, strength and fracture toughness, excellent chemical and wear resistance

     

    Used in many high wear applications, dental restorations: crowns, copings and bridges, engineering, microreactors, analyitic equipment

    Silicon carbide SiC/SiSiC

    High hardness, good room and high temperature and strength, outstanding thermal shock resistance, extreme hardness, high thermal and electrical conductivity, low expansion coefficient, semiconductor,high oxidation resistance, refractive index greater than a diamond, operating temperatures 1100-1500ºC, high temperature strength, high chemical  and corrosión resistance, high fracture toughness,

     

    High temperature resistant parts, mechanical seals, sliding bearings, mechanical seals for chemical pumps, wear parts such as thread guides, Kiln furniture crucibles, burners for high temperature furnaces, sand blasting nozzles, heat exchangers tubes, semiconductors, wafer processing plates & discs components

    Silicon nitride Si3N4

    High strength, low electrical and thermal conductivity (electrical insulator), high resistance to molten metals, excellent thermal shock resistance, high wear resistance, high temperature strength, excellent thermal shock resistance, wear resistance, light weight  (low density), chemical resistance, good fracture toughness, mechanical fatigue, excellent compressive strength and creep resistance, excellent non-wetting property with good oxidation resistance

     

    Dielectric heating or RF (radio frequency) heating applications in tool industries for bearing and wear parts engines in abrasive environments, antiwear liner, powder equipment, molten metal parts, metal forming tools. Gas turbine engines,  turbocharger rotors, high temperature propulsión components, foundary components. Automotive: bearings, tappet shims and buckets, cam rollers, high pressured pumps parts, turbocharge rotors, rocker arm tips, welding location pins, squeeze rollers for radiator tube manufacturing. Balls & bearings.Non-ferrous foundries: thermocouples sheaths, riser tubes, heater tubes, valve rods, valve seats, aluminium powder atomizer tubes, molten metal pumps parts, rotor for degassing shaft, launders due to its high temperature capacity, excellent thermal shock, non-wetting properties. Coordinate Measuring Machine Styluses CMM: various types of styluses, styluses rods, plain bearings, ceramic balls

     

    Hydroxy apatite HA

    Chemically similar to the mineral component of bones and hard tissues in mammals, classed as bioactive, supports bone ingrowth and osseointegration

    Used in prosthetics, orthopaedic, dental and maxillofacial applications

     

    Alumina

    Zirconia

    SiC / SiSiC

    Si3N4

    Bulk Density g/cm3

    3.8-3.9

    5.8-6

    3,1-3.2

    3.1-3.3

    Melting temperature ºC

    2000

    2715

    2730 decomposes

    1900 decomposes

    Maximum operating temperature ºC

    1500-1650

    900-1000

    1100-1500

    1000-1150

    Vickers Hardness HV (GPa)

    15-20

    10-15

    18-22

    13-20

    Flexural Strength MPa

    350-600

    400-900

    350-800

    700-900

    Compressive Strength MPa

    2000-2600

    2000-2500

    1700-2400

    700-2700

    Young's Modulus of Elasticity GPa

    360-380

    200-220

    430-440

    270-300

    Poisson's Ratio

    0.23

    0.31

    0.16

    0.28

    Fracture Toughness MPa√m

    4-6

    6-7

    4.5-5

    6-7

    Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion 40~400℃ /40~800℃ (×10-6/℃)

    7.2/8

    10/11

    3.7/4.4

    2.8/3.3

    Thermal Conductivity  20℃ W/(m・K)

    30-34

    2.9-3.1

    60-200

    23-54

    Specific Heat J/(g・K)

    0.78-0.79

    0.46-0.47

    0.67

    0.65-0.66

    Heat Shock Resistance (in water) ℃

    200-250

    300-400

    380-420

    800-900

    Dielectric Strength KV/mm

    12-15

    11-13

    -

    12-13

    Volume Resistivity 20℃ Ω・cm

    >1014

    >1014

    105-108

    >1014

    Volume Resistivity 300℃ Ω・cm

    1013

    108

    104

    1012

    Volume Resistivity 500℃ Ω・cm

    1010

    104

    103

    1010

    Dielectric Constant 1MHz

    9.7-9.9

    28-32

    -

    8.3-9.6

    Dielectric Loss Angle 1MH (×10-4)

    1-2

    16-17

    -

    5-19

    Loss Factor ×10-4

    10-20

    470-520

    -

     

    Nitric Acid(60%)90℃,24H

    10

    0

    <0.04

    0.2-1.1

    Sulphuric Acid(95%)95℃,24H 

    <0.2

    <0.05

    0

    0

    Caustic Soda(30%)80℃,24H

    <0.05

    <0.1

    0

    0.1-0.5

    Typical properties of Sintered Metals 

    Material

    Density (g/cm3)

    Flexural Strength    (MPa)

    Fracture Toughness    (MPa√m)

    Vickers Hardness (HV) GPa

    Young´s modulus GPa

    % elongation

    Tensile strength MPa

    Melting Temperature ºC

    Operating Temperature ºC

    Sintering Temperature ºC

    Stainless Steel 316/316L

     

    7,9

    900-1250

    110-280

    150-160

    180-200

    40-60

    500-550

    1400-1600

    400-900

    1350 H2, Ar or vacuum

    Titanium      

     

    6,7

    220-240

    60-70

    400-410

    100-120

    20-30

    400-650, up to 1200

    1700

    300-500

    1000-1200, Ar

    W

    19,3

    90

    120-150

    3

    340-410

    2-5

    800-1000

    3400

    1000-1100

    2200, H2

    Mo

    10.3

    500

    10

    230

    320-330

    2-17

    320

    2600

    1000-1100

    1750-2000, H2, Ar or vacuum

    W Mo alloys

    10.3-19.3

    90-500

    10-150

    3-230

    330-410

    2-17

    320-1000

    3400/2600

    1000-1100

    2200 H2