Technical enhancements are reshaping the ceramics manufacturing industry. Here’s a review of the latest innovations.

Bolstered by an expanding market for non-traditional products, the technical ceramics industry is currently experiencing a wave of unprecedented growth, which in turn is driving the development of new casting technologies. Two of the more recent trends in ceramics casting include tape casting systems and high-temperature/high-precision firing kilns. In addition, the adoption of robotics by the ceramics industry is aiding the production of both traditional and non-traditional products. Taken together, these advances signal a new era of technology in the ceramics industry with each offering a particular set of advantages to their users.

Ceramic tape casting systems create their ultra-thin parts by using a slurry or slip to apply a thin film to a carrier. The exact thickness of this film is established by passing it under a blade or slot die that has been set to a precise measurement. The film is then dried with preheated air in a special chamber and collected on a spool along with the carrier or it can be separated from the carrier and then wound on the spool. The material may also be cut into measured sections. The materials that these tape casting systems produce can end up being used in integrated circuit substrates, multi-layer ceramic capacitors, microelectronics, fuel cells and flat panel displays.

As demand for innovative ceramics increases, tape casting systems have become more refined in terms of both precision and operation. Tech-savvy firms have customized their tape casting equipment to achieve incredible degrees of tolerance regarding film thickness and some have even equipped machines with tachometers to control carrier speed. In the more advanced applications, control of the tape casting equipment is managed through a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA). Human-machine interfaces make running these sophisticated machines user-friendly for the operators.

The materials created through tape casting are typically fired in technical ceramic kilns. The ceramics materials that emerge are just as liable to be used for highly advanced products, such as chip and processor manufacturing, as they are for more common items, like plumbing fixtures. Since these ceramics serve a wide spectrum of possible end markets, technical ceramic kilns come in a variety of shapes and sizes but they do tend to have smaller dimensions. The kilns’ firing must be extremely accurate and reliable because of the special properties of the materials they handle. They must possess an incredibly high temperature capacity (up to over 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit) and a very slow start capability that allows steady rate temperature operation from as low as 140 degrees. Finally, the kilns must have a temperature uniformity capability with a precision of less than 18 degrees.

To achieve quicker cycle times and boost production, some ceramic firms have turned to robotics as a way to facilitate the forming process. Although automation has been slow to catch on in ceramic production – where human reliability has been the standard – recent developments in robot-aided ceramics have led many shops to adopt this technology.

At present, robotics is used chiefly for demolding and finishing processes. Robots unload the casted pieces at the end of their cycle and then remove any marks and/or seam lines before setting them up for the kiln. Recent developments include equipping the robots with programmable reference paths that the operator can define through a user-friendly interface. These options significantly expand the way the robots handle the casts, giving them a more equal footing with human workers in the ceramics shop. Along with not needing rest breaks or suffering fatigue, robots can also handle mold weights that are too heavy or awkward for humans, thus cutting down on work-related injury.

Above and beyond cutting down on labor requirements, robotics speed the production process and boost the quality of the items manufactured. Likewise, tape casting and firing kiln improvements promise to assure the ongoing technical advancements of the ceramics industry, especially in the production of its non-traditional specialized products. All aspects of ceramics manufacturing stand to benefit from these enhancements and continued process development.

Sources: Investing in Ceramics: HED International Offers Technical Solutions for Technical Ceramics
Ralph Ruark
Ceramic Industry, Feb. 1, 2002
http://www.ceramicindustry.com/ci/cda/articleinformation/features/bnp__features__item/0,2710,71662,00.html

Using Robots for Pressure Casting
Jacques Ronger
Ceramic Industry, July 1, 2001
http://www.ceramicindustry.com/ci/cda/articleinformation/features/bnp__features__item/0,2710,29443,00.html