ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING OF CERAMICS - ONLINE SHORT COURSE

Learn how ceramic additive manufacturing can be an alternative to conventional manufacturing methods

This Course has now concluded

Organizers 

Shawn M. Allan, Vice President, Lithoz America LLC

Geoff Brennecka, Herman F. Coors Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Course description

Ceramic additive manufacturing has advanced rapidly in the past two decades and continues to evolve as an industry. Currently available manufacturing systems present a viable alternative to some and a valuable complement to many more conventional manufacturing methods. As with any new manufacturing tool, quantifying and managing uncertainty and risk are crucial, necessitating a solid understanding of the scientific fundamentals as well as the technological state of the art. The course provides its audience a balanced program that contains a mixture of fundamental, economic, application-specific, and technology-based topics from a variety of academic, industrial, and government laboratory experts. The course includes the following topics spread across two days:

  • Day 1: General Overview, AM Methods, and Standards/Qualification
  • Day 2: Recent Advances and Horizon Technologies

Audience

The course is specifically suitable for people from the fields of company strategy & development, research and development, universities, construction, design, production, supply chain management, product development, and innovation development.

Learning outcomes

Attendees will get an introduction to the topic of additive manufacturing (AM) of ceramics and learn more about the economic and technical aspects of this field. Furthermore, attendees get an overview of state-of-the-art production methods as well as a deeper insight into the opportunities and limitations of the various technologies. Attendees will also gain a basic understanding of how to implement AM systems into their production chain and learn what kinds of applications and products are strong candidates for additive manufacturing. By the end of the course, attendees will understand the pros and cons of different technologies and will be able to use their gained knowledge in strategic planning, on-the-ground troubleshooting, and every stage in between.

Speaker lineup

DAY 1: November 14

Geoff Brennecka
Geoff Brennecka

Bio: Geoff Brennecka received BS and MS degrees in Ceramic Engineering from Missouri S&T and a PhD in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Illinois. He worked as a member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories for 8 years before moving to Colorado School of Mines where he is currently the Herman F. Coors Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Engineering. Geoff directs the Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics (CCAC) and co-directs the Alliance for the Development of Additive Processing Technologies (ADAPT). His group’s research focuses on the discovery, development, and collaborative deployment of new materials and processing/integration technologies with a particular focus on piezoelectric and ferroelectric oxides and nitrides. Geoff has served in many leadership roles with the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and the IEEE UFFC; he is a Fellow of ACerS, an Academician in the World Academy of Ceramics, and the Chair-Elect of the Ceramics and Glass Industry Foundation.

Title:  A Crash Course in Sintering Powder-Derived Ceramics, with a Focus on Additive Manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing (AM) of ceramics encompasses a wide variety of new forming techniques, but (nearly) always comes back to classic methods of thermal sintering for densification. This session will serve as an introduction for those new to ceramics and a refresher for those experienced in the art. We will start with the importance of solids loading and particle morphology, focus primarily on thermal processes of binder burnout and sintering, and discuss methods for interpreting microstructures to appropriately modify sintering schedules for desired microstructures. Oxides and non-oxides will be discussed. The intent is not for attendees to be sintering experts by the end of this brief session, but instead to understand the basics, know how to approach sintering challenges, and be able to find and understand appropriate additional resources as needed.

Russell Maier
Russell Maier

Bio: Russell Maier is a materials research scientist in the materials measurement laboratory (MML) at NIST, Gaithersburg.  Russell completed his Ph.D. in materials science at Penn State University in 2014, he went on to a two-year NRC postdoc at NIST in the material measurement science division (MMSD), and he has been a staff scientist in the materials structure and data group 643.08 since 2016.  Russell’s research background is in metrology of point defects in complex oxides.  His current research is focused on ceramic additive manufacturing (AM), and current projects include metrology of feedstock properties/rheology for printable ceramic pastes and development of in situ measurements of cold-sintering processes.

Title:  Current Status of Standards Development for Ceramic AM

Ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) processes are complex, multi-step, and cover a multitude of techniques that can include material extrusion, material or binder jetting, VAT photopolymerization, and hybrid casting.  These AM techniques are highly disparate in the types of feedstock and post-processing steps required to print a ceramic part.  As a result, progress in standards implementation has been slow compared to metal and polymer AM.  Recently ASTM and ISO efforts have been initiated with the goal of focusing more activity on ceramic-specific AM standards.  These efforts include the ASTM additive manufacturing committee (F42) ceramic materials task group (F42.05.05), ISO additive manufacturing technical committee (TC261), and joint ceramic materials task group (TC261/WG2/JG82).  I will discuss the status of ceramic AM standards in these committees and lessons learned from an ASTM-backed, NIST-led pilot round-robin study of mechanical properties in AM ceramics.

Dale Cillessen

Bio: Dale Cillessen got his BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology and his MS in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University.  Dale is a principal member of the technical staff in the Applied Science Technology Maturation department at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. He joined Sandia in 2014 where he worked in design engineering and nuclear facilities operation. In 2018 he moved to the Applied Science and Technology Department.  Here he oversees the advanced manufacturing capabilities including Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBP), Lithography Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM), and Femtosecond Laser Ablation. Using these advanced manufacturing technologies, Dale has successfully developed process for internal development and production.

Title:   Enhancing Dimensional Performance and Reducing Development Time with Lithography-Based Ceramic Manufacturing

D. Cillessen, R. Andersen, A. Scarlett, S. Gomez

Lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM) as an enabling technology reduces development time and provides users the ability to rapidly produce complex, high-performance ceramic components. This educational content delves into the development applications at Sandia National Laboratory incorporating strategies to enhance dimensional performance and reduce development time. We will introduce techniques on design for LCM and key process parameters that impacting dimensional performance. By the end of the session, attendees will be equipped with knowledge and tools to increase the dimensional performance of 3D printed ceramics.

SNL is managed and operated by NTESS under DOE NNSA contract DE-NA0003525.

Dror Danai
Dror Danai

Bio: Dror Danai, XJET's Chief Business Officer, brings nearly three decades of visionary leadership in international 2D and 3D printing strategy and operations. His expertise has sparked transformative technological breakthroughs in both domains. With a potent blend of skills in product design, engineering, and global marketing, Dror guides companies from inception to full maturity. He also holds patents in direct material jetting.

Before joining XJet, Dror played pivotal roles in advancing Scodix and Objet (later merged with Stratasys) from startup to global success. Dror holds Honors degrees in Industrial Engineering and in Operations Research from Tel-Aviv University.

Title:  Additive Manufacturing of High-Performance Ceramics for End-Use Parts: Dispelling the Misconception of AM as a Prototyping Technology

Despite the rapid advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, the misconception that AM is only suitable for prototyping persists. This is especially true for the production of high-performance ceramic parts, which require high levels of accuracy, quality, and complexity.

In this presentation, we will discuss the following topics:

  • The key benefits of XJet's technology for the production of high-performance ceramic parts
  • How XJet is dispelling the misconception of AM as a prototyping technology
  • Case studies of successful applications of XJet's technology for the manufacturing of end-use ceramic parts

 

DAY 2: November 15

Lisa Rueschhoff
Lisa Rueschhoff

Bio: Dr. Lisa Rueschhoff is a Materials Research Engineer in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. She received her B.S. in Materials Engineering from Iowa State University in 2013 and her Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Purdue University in 2017. She joined AFRL as a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in 2017, and became a government civilian member of AFRL in 2018. As a member of the Ceramic Materials and Processes Research Team in the Ceramics Branch at AFRL, Lisa’s research focuses on conventional processing and additive manufacturing of high-temperature structural ceramics and ceramic matrix composites. As an active member of the ceramics and ACerS community, Lisa has received the following ACerS awards: Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Sapphire, the International Jubilee Global Diversity Award, Du-Co Ceramic Young Professional Award, and the Global Ambassador Award. She has been actively involved in conference organization including acting as Symposia Organizer for ACerS conferences and as Program Co-Chair for the upcoming 10th International Congress on Ceramics (ICCC’10) to be held in Montreal in July 2024.

Title: Current and Future Directions in Additive Manufacturing of High-Temperature Structural Ceramics

Abstract: Research in the field of ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) has been rapidly accelerating in the last decade, resulting in hundreds of publications and review articles on the topic. While strides have been made in forming near-net and complex-shaped ceramic components, challenges remain that inhibit more widespread implementation. Here, a brief analysis of the recent trends in the field as well discussion on types of AM methods, along with advantages and remaining challenges for each, will be given. A more detailed discussion on the topics of incorporating fiber reinforcements and implementing artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to accelerate feedstock development and process optimization will be presented. Focus will be given to current and potential future directions in each of these areas, both from recent literature reports and work conducted at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Andrea Zocca

Bio: Andrea Zocca is a researcher in the division “Advanced Multi-materials Processing” at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) in Berlin, Germany.

He graduated from the University of Padova, obtaining his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in materials engineering in 2009 and 2011, respectively. He obtained his doctoral title in 2015 in the frame of a co-tutored doctorate between the University of Padova (Italy) and the Technical University of Clausthal (Germany). In 2015 he received an Adolf Martens fellowship at BAM and since 2017 he has a permanent position as researcher at the same institution.

His main research interest is in the development of novel technologies and feedstocks for the additive manufacturing of advanced ceramic materials. He has co-authored 30 peer-reviewed publications and 6 patent applications.

Andrea is member of the German Ceramic Society (DKG) and the European Ceramic Society (ECerS). Within ECerS he is the representative of the Europe Makes Ceramics working group and has led and co-organized six editions of the young Ceramists Additive Manufacturing Forum.

Title: Novel and emerging technologies for the additive manufacturing of advanced ceramics

The presentation will provide a few examples of novel and emerging additive manufacturing technologies covering applications of ceramics from the nanometer to the centimeter scale. The discussion will be focused on the potential for new technologies to address some specific aspects and limitations (e.g. in resolution, part size, processing time, material selection) of mainstream technologies and to complement them in the manufacturing of advanced ceramics.

Martin Schwentenwein
Martin Schwentenwein

Bio: Martin Schwentenwein has a background in technical chemistry and specialized in photopolymerization and additive manufacturing (completion of PhD thesis on development of new resin systems for stereolithography at the Technical University of Vienna in 2012). He joined the then start-up Lithoz in 2012 and built up the R&D division there. The R&D group now comprises more than 35 researcher, engineers, and technicians and focuses mainly on the development of new processes, 3D printers, and ceramic suspensions. His current position is Chief Scientific Officer and R&D Coordinator at Lithoz.

Title: Lithography-based ceramic manufacturing for multi-material components and functionally graded materials

Combining different materials in 3D printing is garnering widespread attention due to the wide range of possibilities that it provides to realize parts with increased functionality. This talk presents the status quo of multi-material 3D printing on the basis of lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM), a technology capable of realizing high resolution 3D printing for ceramics. Beside the technological principles the focus of this presentation will also be on the results and current challenges in terms of co-printing and co-sintering of different ceramic materials as well as ceramic and metals.

PANEL DISCUSSION: All Speakers

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