Development and commercialization of 3D-printed ceramic/refractory carbonized items.

3D打印或增材制造已经彻底改变了许多材料的原型设计，但在陶瓷领域的应用非常有限。这是因为陶瓷成型后需要高温烧制。即使在先进的、可控气氛的窑炉中，这也不是一个精确的过程。物品缩水，对功能至关重要的复杂细节丢失。有些形状甚至会导致物品破裂或灾难性地失效。我们通过在印刷过程中或在印刷后浸泡引入树脂和抗氧化剂来解决这个问题。烧制后，树脂形成碳键网络，保护物品不收缩。该项目旨在利用这一成熟的概念，为金属铸造提供过滤器（改进产品），并为复杂的金属浇注提供定制的铸造过滤器设计服务。项目成果将由铸造厂采用，以减少由先前无法过滤的杂质造成的缺陷铸件。这方面的成本尚未公开，尽管陶瓷咨询公司CLAN估计，英国铸造行业的成本为8700万英镑，而英国铸造行业的成本为20亿英镑。我们还将在这个项目中探索其他应用。迄今为止，加工陶瓷一直很困难。在射击前，它们太软，在射击过程中会失去形状。烧制后，它们太硬，难以加工，容易破损。我们的技术通过允许在烧制过程中形成并保持精确的形状，从而消除了加工的需要。我们已经确定了窑具（窑内物品的架子和支架）是一个潜在的应用，并将决定如何以及是否应该进入这个市场。

3D printing or additive manufacturing has revolutionised prototyping in many materials, but has seen very limited adoption to ceramics. This is because ceramics need high temperature firing after forming. Even in advanced, controlled-atmosphere kilns, this is not an exact process. Items shrink and intricate details, essential for function, are lost. Some shapes can even cause items to crack or fail catastrophically. We have solved this problem by introducing resins and antioxidants, either during printing or by soaking afterwards. Upon firing, the resins form a network of carbon bonds that protect the item from shrinkage. This project seeks to exploit this proven concept to deliver filters for metal casting (improved product) and a bespoke casting filter design service for complex metal pours. Project results will be taken up by foundries to reduce defective castings caused by previously unfilterable impurities. Costs of this are not publicly available, although CLAN ceramic consultancy estimates it costs £87m to the £2bn UK foundry industry. We will also explore other applications in this project. It has hitherto been difficult to machine ceramics. Before firing, they are too soft and would lose form during firing. After firing, they are too hard to machine feasibly and prone to breakage. Our technology removes the need for machining, by allowing a precise shape to be formed and retained through the firing process. We have already identified kiln furniture (shelves and supports for items in kilns) as a potential application and will determine how and if we should access this market.