Materials • Processes


Fig. 1. Rapid prototyping and manufacturing with ceramics creates opportunities for designers to improve product performance.


(photo: Morgan Crucible)


 Ceramics offer properties that are not generally available from metals, plastics or composites, but ceramic components can be difficult to source, especially if time is of the essence. Alistair Rae reports.


Process developments create opportunities for ceramics


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esign engineers are usually comfortable working with metals and plastics but most have little or no knowledge or experience of ceramics. This is a pity, as these


materials can offer major advantages when the other classes of materials cannot provide the performance characteristics required. For example, ceramics are commonly used in the medical and aerospace industries, as their


various attributes include high heat resistance and biocompatibility. Designers working in other sectors may be able to redesign products in ceramics to gain a performance improvement. One of the traditional difficulties with ceramics has been in obtaining prototypes. Today prototype components are expected to represent the final part as closely as possible - which implies that prototypes of ceramic components must be made from ceramics with properties very similar to those


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