3D printing technology is also known as Additive Manufacturing technology. It first converts the three-dimensional model data into multiple two-dimensional sections, and then uses computer automatic control to deposit materials in a step-by-step cumulative manner to manufacture the parts. Due to this innovative manufacturing method, which can flexibly produce highly complex structures that traditional methods (such as casting and machining) cannot achieve, it has quickly gained widespread attention from both the scientific and industrial communities since its emergence in the 1980s.
Ceramics, with their high mechanical strength and hardness, good chemical stability, as well as excellent properties in terms of sound, light, electricity, magnetism and heat, are widely used in fields such as chemical engineering, machinery, electronics, aerospace and biomedical science. The traditional manufacturing process of ceramics usually mixes ceramic powder with binders or other additives, and then forms the desired shape through methods such as injection molding, compression molding, sheet molding, gel injection molding, etc. The formed green bodies are further densified through processes such as high-temperature degreasing and sintering. However, most of these traditional manufacturing processes require the pre-production of molds, which leads to a longer overall production cycle and makes it impossible to produce ceramic parts with highly complex structures. Moreover, due to the extremely high hardness and brittleness of ceramics, their processing is extremely difficult. On one hand, cutting tools are prone to wear, and on the other hand, defects such as cracking of the sample may occur during the processing.
Applying 3D printing technology to the manufacturing of ceramic parts offers a completely new possibility for addressing the aforementioned problems and challenges. The ceramic 3D printing technology was first proposed by Marcus et al. and Sachs et al. in the 1990s. With the continuous improvement of materials and computer science and technology levels, the research on 3D printing processes suitable for ceramic part manufacturing has also made significant progress, and the types have become increasingly diverse. Based on different 3D printing formation principles of ceramic, these technologies are classified into the fused deposition modeling technology (FDM) based on extrusion formation principle and the direct ink writing technology (DIW), the stereolithography technology (SL) based on photo-sensitive polymerization principle, the digital light processing technology (DLP), and the two-photon polymerization technology (TPP), the ink jet printing technology (IJP) and three-dimensional printing technology (3DP) based on powder bonding formation principle, and the selective laser sintering technology (SLS) and selective laser melting technology (SLM) based on powder sintering formation principle. A total of 9 ceramic 3D printing technology processes are included.
