Energy-Reduced Fabrication of Light-Frame Ceramic Honeycombs by Replication of Additive Manufactured Templates

Abstract

Ceramic components require very high energy consumption due to synthesis, shaping, and thermal treatment. However, this study suggests that combining the sol–gel process, replica technology, and stereolithography has the potential to produce highly complex geometries with energy savings in each process step. We fabricated light-frame honeycombs of Al2O3, Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT), and BaTiO3 (BT) using 3D-printed templates with varying structural angles between −30° and 30° and investigated their mechanical and piezoelectric properties. The Al2O3 honeycombs showed a maximum strength of approximately 6 MPa, while the BCZT and BaTiO3 honeycombs achieved a d33 above 180 pC/N. Additionally, the BCZT powder was prepared via a sol–gel process, and the impact of the calcination temperature on phase purity was analyzed. The results suggest that there is a large energy-saving potential for the synthesis of BCZT powder. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the fabrication of complex ceramic structures with improved energy efficiency and enhancement of performance.

Keep it Simple: Ceramic Kelvin Cells via Liquid Crystal Display‐Stereolithography Printing

“…Ultrahigh porosities of over 90% and exceptionally low strut thicknesses compared to conventional replica or 3D printed Kelvin cells of 0.20 mm were achieved while maintaining comparatively high mechanical strength. [27] 2. Experimental Section…”

“…[28] This resin has also been shown to be relatively easy to debind in previous works. [27,29] Two resins were prepared, the first containing only dispersed powder and resin and the second one additionally hexanediol-diacrylate (HDDA, CAS number: 13 048-33-4) (Sigma-Aldrich Chemie GmbH, Steinheim, Germany) as a liquefier. HDDA has a measured low viscosity of 0.01 Pa s and is therefore often used in ceramic VPP printing.…”

“…[56] Köllner et al investigated an advanced form of the replica technique, where sharp corners are avoided by 3D printing the template and reach compressive strength in the range of 0.6 AE 0.4-5.7 AE 2.1 MPa at a porosity of 88.4 AE 1.3-81.4 AE 1.4% (Figure 4a, black measurement points). [27] This allows more complex structures to be infiltrated, but due to the still manual process high standard deviations not only in strength but also in porosity are difficult to avoid. In comparison, the direct printed Kelvin cells show higher mechanical strength with much lower standard deviations of 0.03-0.17 MPa and 0.11-0.67% in porosity (Table 2), as they have dense struts with homogeneous load distribution to all struts while offering at least the same, if not more, freedom in terms of the shape complexity.…”