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Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is an advanced technology for polymer 3D printing and countless printers are commercially available. FDM has also been demonstrated for ceramics, but the development and production of ceramic filaments is complex and only available for a few materials. The FDM printer developed and constructed at ZHAW therefore uses granulated feedstock instead of filaments. The development of novel feedstocks is faster and more straightforward since the challenges associated with filament production don’t have to be considered. Furthermore, commercial ceramic injection molding (CIM) feedstocks can be used which allows fast prototyping with the same material that is later used in high-quantity industrial production by CIM. The ceramic printer is equipped with two printing heads, which can either be used for multimaterial printing or for printing with support structures. Examples of multimaterial printing include colored ZrO2 parts as well as ceramic high-temperature heating elements in various shapes consisting of a conductive and a non-conductive component. Light- and electron microscopy confirms that the layer adhesion before and after sintering is flawless, even between different materials if the material combination is chosen carefully. Finally, a novel support material especially suited for ceramic FDM printing is presented. The material is based on an organic CIM binder and is mostly dissolved in water after printing. After aqueous debinding, the residue of the support material can effortlessly be removed manually or thermally. This method enables a fast fabrication of high quality ceramic parts with complex geometries. |
