Net shaped high performance oxide ceramic parts by selective laser melting

TLDR

The study presents an additive manufacturing technique for ceramics using Selective Laser Melting of Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ powder. SLM fully melts the Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ powder, yielding near‑100 % dense, net‑shaped parts without post‑processing, while high‑temperature preheating above 1600 °C prevents crack formation from thermal stresses. The process produces fine‑grained, nano‑structured ceramics with flexural strengths exceeding 500 MPa, enabling rapid freeform fabrication of complex net‑shaped parts for high‑end medical and engineering applications.

Abstract

An additive manufacturing technique (AM) for ceramics, based on Al2O3–ZrO2 powder by means of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is presented. Pure ceramic powder is completely melted by a laser beam yielding net-shaped specimens of almost 100% densities without any post-processing. Possible crack formation during the build-up process due to thermal stresses is prevented by a high-temperature preheating of above 1600 ∘C. Specimens with fine-grained nano-sized microstructures and flexural strengths of above 500 MPa are produced. The new technology allows for rapid freeform manufacture of complex net-shaped ceramics, thus, exploiting the outstanding mechanical and thermal properties for high-end medical and engineering disciplines.