Ceramic injection molding technology

Ceramic injection molding is a major innovation driver for our customers. Using different types of ceramics (silicon nitride, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide and mixed ceramics), our customers develop high-quality ceramic injection molded parts with remarkable product properties. This opens new perspectives for our customers.

High temperature resistance
Wear resistance and hardness
Chemical resistance
Low specific weight
High insulation capacity
Long service life

Example: Ceramics are used in turbine and engine components (e.g. turbine blades, piston crown, valve, valve seat, cylinder liner, impellers, seals).

Application example turbine blades: A significant increase in turbine efficiency can be achieved by ceramic turbine blades. The associated material requirements can be met by ceramics such as silicon nitride. In addition to high chemical resistance, ceramics offer further advantages such as low component weight, high strength in the high-temperature range and high resistance to wear attacks.

Another area of application is components in the automotive sector: Elements of connectors, sensors, catalytic converters and vehicle electronics must be suitable for use in the smallest of spaces at extremely high temperatures. At the same time, demands for performance, safety and environmental protection are increasing. This development places high demands on the properties of the components (e.g. with regard to temperature resistance and electrical insulation). Technical ceramics with their material properties meet these demands.

Examples of use

In addition, production technologies such as ceramic injection molding, also known as Ceramic Injection Moulding (CIM), have improved significantly. This process allows even ceramic parts with extremely complex and filigree geometries to be manufactured precisely and offered cost-effectively in quantities of millions.

Technical ceramics are predestined for sensitive measuring systems such as sensors because of their favorable insulation properties as electrical non-conductors and their mechanical robustness. In automotive sensors, the components must withstand high temperatures - only technical ceramics can do this. The temperature resistance of zirconium oxide, for example, reaches up to a maximum of +1800 °C - in comparison, it goes up to about +300 °C for plastics and up to about +1000 °C for metallic materials. In addition, the thermal expansion of technical ceramics is much lower than that of plastics and aluminum alloys, and ceramic products are very dimensionally stable.

The extremely high resistance to corrosion makes a ceramic sensor housing robust. Embrittlement, material changes, aging and the associated deformation, which could affect the functions of the sensor, are eliminated. Further advantages of the material: material fatigue sets in much later with technical ceramics than with metallic materials and the mechanical strength is very high even under the effects of pressure and temperature.

Meeting high demands

For components, especially in automotive electronics, the demands for ever increasing complexity of the component geometries and miniaturization of the components are rising. The production process of ceramic injection molding is the best way to meet these demands compared to other processes for the production of technical ceramics.

With CIM, ceramic materials can be molded into a near-net-shape shape that includes, for example, threads, oblique holes or undercuts. According to the ceramic manufacturer's experience with ceramic injection molding, the repeatability in all three spatial directions is also unsurpassed - even for large quantities.

This has enabled us to bring ceramic tools for ceramic components with wall thicknesses from 0.3 mm to 15 mm to series production readiness.

Production costs reduced

CIM not only gives developers and designers more freedom in the design of ceramic components. Since the process reliability of ceramic injection molding is very high, high-quality and thus high-priced raw materials such as nitride or carbide materials can also be processed.