The CeraMet 1 ceramic stereolithography machine from polymer 3D printing specialists Photocentric, will allow additive manufacturing experts at the MTC to print very large ceramic parts such as full size casting cores.
Peterborough-based Photocentric has been at the cutting edge of photopolymer additive manufacturing development for more than 18 years. In 2014 the company developed the first 3D-printer based on LCD screens and visible light technology.
These have proved successful in the 3D printing of plastics, enabling significantly greater productivity with larger format printers, delivering lower final part costs.
The new CeraMet 1 stereolithography machine currently being installed at the MTC benefits from numerous innovations and is the culmination of Photocentric's research into 3D printing ceramics.
It enables the creation of ceramic objects at a much larger scale and with greater productivity than was possible before. It uses a patent-applied-for dispensing and release system known as 'blow peel'. This system allows a wide range of ceramic materials to be printed successfully.
Photocentric, as both printer and resin manufacturers, are installing their machine at the MTC and supplying ceramic resins. The range of ceramic resins that can be used in the machine is vast.
Will Rowlands, ceramic AM technology lead at NCAM, said: “The introduction of the CeraMet 1 at the MTC goes a long way to enhancing the MTC’s capability to support the UK ceramic manufacturing market. This is an exciting new avenue for the cost-effective manufacture of high quality, complex ceramic components, opening up this technology to a huge range of applications."
Paul Holt, managing director at Photocentric Ltd, added: “We are very excited to launch CeraMet 1 as our first large format ceramic 3D-printer. We are thrilled by the opportunity of custom mass manufacturing ceramic parts that this new machine will unleash.
"We believe that our partnership with the MTC will open up new horizons for the adoption of ceramics additive manufacturing in large scale across industries."
The NCAM at the MTC brings together one of the most comprehensive combinations of additive manufacturing equipment and capability in the UK. It is also home to the European Space Agency's Additive Manufacturing Benchmarking Centre.
