Meet the 5 best ceramic 3D printers
Posted by John K. Johnston on March 25th, 2020
According to a report by SmarTech Publishing, ceramic 3D printing is expected to generate $ 3.6 billion in revenue in 2028, following a good annual growth curve. It should also be mentioned that the number of ceramic 3D printers available on the market has increased, with a trend towards the industrialization of technology. In fact, more manufacturers are offering professional solutions, capable of quickly designing parts with very high quality. Remember that a ceramic 3D printer can use different manufacturing processes, from binder injection (Binder Jetting) to stereolithography and material extrusion. The materials are also diverse: historically, clay was used more frequently in this sector; Now we notice that there are much more technical ceramics. That is why we wanted to present 12 ceramic 3D printers available on the market, taking care to classify them by their use, that is, personal vs. industrial. If you need more information about best 3d printer please visit this site.
Ceramic 3D printers: professional solutions
The 3DCeram C3600 Ultimate Ceramic 3D Printer
3DCeram is a French company and is without a doubt one of the historical players in the ceramic additive manufacturing market. He has developed a professional range based on a stereolithography process where a laser hardens the liquid ceramic layer by layer. Its latest machine was unveiled at Formnext 2019: the C3600 Ultimate is a 3D printer designed for mass production that has the highest print volume of its developments (600 x 600 x 300), 4 lasers, and a resolution of 30 microns.
The Admaflex 130 machine
The Dutch manufacturer also relies on stereolithography, more specifically on the DLP process. Mix a ceramic powder with a liquid resin to be able to 3D print resistant parts. Its Admaflex 130 solution offers a print volume of 96 x 54 x 110 mm with a layer thickness of between 10 and 200 microns. It is interesting to note that this is a modular machine for which the print volume and resolution can be chosen, thus adapting to different projects. The user can add a plugin to print with metallic powders.
ExOne X1 160PRO, between ceramic and metal
The X1 160PRO industrial machine from German manufacturer ExOne is best known for its 3D metal printing capabilities: With a volume of 800 x 500 x 400 mm, you can create complex parts from a powder bonding process. If we are interested here it is because it is also compatible with ceramic powder. In addition to its generous volume, you can print a layer with a thickness between 30 and 200 microns, at a speed of up to 10,000 cm3 per hour.
Kwambio Ceram Two
The Ceram Two 3D Printer was developed by the manufacturer KWAMBIO and uses Ceramic Binder Jetting (CBJ) technology to create ceramic pieces without visible layers. One of the cool features of this 3D printer is that users can choose from 100 different varnishes, resulting in different finishes, from gloss to fully matte. Made in Ukraine, the Ceram Two has a print volume of 350 x 350 x 380 mm and a speed of 160 mm per second. As for the applications, we can print decoration pieces, but also jewelery. The Ceram Two is the industrial version that completes the range of the manufacturer that until now had developed a desktop version, the Ceram Zero Max.
Lithoz CeraFab 7500 3D Printer
The CeraFab 7500 from Lithoz is a plug & play ceramic 3D printer, reliable and easy to use. Manufactured by the Austrian company Lithoz, this solution aims to facilitate the production of high-performance, small-series ceramic prototypes. It is based on its patented LCM technology to work with industrial ceramic materials such as tricalcium phosphate. These materials can be used as bioabsorbable bone substitutes. The construction volume of the CeraFab 7500 is 76 x 43 x 170 mm, with a resolution of 40 microns.
