“With our new 3-D printing process, we can take full advantage of the many desirable properties of this silicon oxycarbide ceramic, including high hardness, strength and temperature capability as well as resistance to abrasion and corrosion,” HRL program manager Dr. Tobias Schaedler explains in the video below.
HRL, which is owned by Boeing and General Motors, has developed a ceramic resin that can be printed through stereolithography. The company calls it a “pre-ceramic” resin that prints like a typical plastic resin and is then fired in a high-temperature kiln, turning it into a dense ceramic. This results in objects that are about 10 times stronger than other 3-D printed ceramics, have nearly no porosity and can withstand temperatures higher than 1000°C.
The material was created by senior chemical engineer Zak Eckel and senior chemist Dr. Chaoyin Zhou. The first tests of this new resin, performed by HRL, are said to be the first time silicon carbide ceramics have ever been 3-D printed, according to news organization 3-DPrint.com.
