Advanced Ceramic 3D Printing Services

Printed Parts | Resin Supply | Custom Material Development

Ceramic 3D printing is ideal for rapid prototyping, quick design iterations, and low-to-medium volume production. The design freedom that 3D printing allows can truly be an enabling technology, especially considering the fact that added complexity and features often come without added cost. With nearly 30 years' experience, SINTX is an industry leader in ceramic 3D printing and works with a wide range of partners from innovative startups to well-established OEMs. Our expertise spans a variety of technical ceramics including silica, zirconia, alumina, and silicon nitride, as well as our proprietary silicon nitride composite filament, Flex-SN PEEK.

Connect with our team of engineers to explore how our ceramic 3D printing services can transform your product development process, maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate time-to-market for high quality, 3D printed ceramic parts.

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Vertically-Integrated Additive Manufacturing Expertise

Transforming Ideas Into Printed Components Since 1998

SINTX is an established industry leader in ceramic additive manufacturing with nearly 30 years of experience designing, developing, printing, and sintering ceramic components. Our vertically-integrated approach ensures complete control and unparalleled efficiency & quality at every stage of the ceramic 3D printing process. By owning our resin supply chain, SINTX is able to offer comprehensive, build-to-print support all the way from resin development to production of high-quality ceramic printed parts. Our team of experts is here to assist you with the entire ceramic 3D printing process, ensuring your vision is realized with exacting standards and precision.

RESIN

PRINTING

DEBINDING

SINTERING

PARTS

Our Proprietary Technical Ceramics

SINTX began printing ceramics in 1998, but our offerings have grown significantly since that time. Beginning in 2016, SINTX became a leading supplier of ceramic resins in the 3D printing market. Our proprietary blends of alumina, silica, and zirconia are optimized for stereolithography 3D printing. This advanced additive manufacturing technique utilizes digital light projection (DLP) technology to cure our ceramic-filled resins into 3D printed objects directly from a digital file. In addition to supplying our own production-ready resins, we also develop custom ceramic resin formulas to satisfy your unique printing objectives. These resins are specifically engineered by our team of ceramic engineers to print efficiently with high resolution and sinter to high density.

Alumina

Alumina is a widely used technical ceramic because it is a lower-cost material with excellent mechanical properties. Our proprietary, high-density alumina is the result of years of R&D and is specifically tailored to applications demanding high hardness, corrosion resistance, thermal stability, and electrical insulation.

Silica

Silica is renowned for its exceptional thermal shock resistance and chemical resistance, making it ideal for printing cores and cored molds for precision investment casting. Our unique formulation has been successfully used to cast single crystal turbine blades among a host of other applications.

Zirconia

Zirconia is known for its mechanical strength, fracture toughness, wear resistance, and thermal shock resistance. Though commonly used in dentistry for fabricating oral prosthetics, zirconia is gaining recognition as a vital structural ceramic for the manufacture of technical components that can withstand high stress and extreme thermal conditions.

FLEX-SN PEEK For Biomedical 3D Printing

FLEX-SN PEEK is a novel composite of implantable grades of silicon nitride and PEEK now available as a filament for 3D printing using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) method. This material represents a significant leap forward by blending silicon nitride’s favorable biocompatibility, tissue integration, and resistance to bacterial biofilm formation with PEEK’s well-known versatility and bone-like mechanical properties. Recent research has demonstrated printed FLEX-SN PEEK’s ability to resist colonization by common orthopedic bacteria and to be printed into implantable devices that far exceed industry mechanical property requirements74. Further, devices printed using this material may be printed in-clinic without the lead times and heavy equipment requirements traditionally associated with ceramic processing.

Advanced Ceramic 3D Printing Services


Resin Development

Not only does SINTX supply ceramic resin for 3D printing, but we also develop custom resin compositions to meet your unique printing objectives. Leverage our material expertise and R&D experience to customize solutions that precisely align with your project’s requirements.

Process Development

Draw upon our extensive expertise to design and optimize your ceramic 3D printing process. Our team is adept at streamlining production at every stage including resin development, printing, binder burnout, and sintering cycle development so your facility can produce top quality ceramic printed parts with consistency and efficiency.

Build-To-Print Ceramic Parts

In many cases, printing a ceramic component is not the most difficult step in the process. De-binding or sintering can often prove to be far more challenging. Our highly talented and passionate engineering team possesses years of know-how in the meticulous and nuanced process of ceramic 3D printing. By partnering with SINTX, you offload the burden of navigating this complex process to our experienced team. Our contract manufacturing service allows you to focus on your core business, while we deliver high-quality, custom ceramic components tailored to your specifications.

Testing & Validation

Achieving high-density ceramic printed parts requires rigorous oversight and attention to every step of the process. From material characterization during resin development to mechanical testing and density analysis of printed parts, our engineering team is here to ensure that each ceramic component that we help produce performs exactly as expected.

Tech Support & Consulting

Our dedicated team is here to guide you through every step of the 3D printing process to ensure your vision is realized with precision and quality. From initial design review and material selection to advanced troubleshooting and process optimization, our engineering acumen is at your disposal.

Streamline Development with Stereolithography 3D Printing

Faster to Market for Ceramics

In an era where speed to market is critical, stereolithography 3D printing (SLA) offers a competitive advantage in the product development lifecycle. This advanced technology streamlines the path from digital design to functional prototype, significantly reducing development time and costs compared to conventional ceramic manufacturing techniques. Stereolithography's capability to adjust designs with agility, without the need for extensive tooling, positions it as a preferred choice for ramp-up production or niche product commercialization, enabling quick functional testing of ceramic prototypes and early assessment of market acceptance.

Rapid Prototyping

With decades of experience with ceramic 3D printing, SINTX has established a reliable, cost-effective process for rapid prototyping and parallel design iterations which accelerates development and ensures consistency in every prototype, driving your innovations forward with unmatched efficiency.

Lower Cost

Ceramic 3D printing eliminates the need for expensive mold construction and tooling costs associated with typical ceramic manufacturing techniques. Multiple prototypes can be made simultaneously, reducing cost per design iteration, making even the most intricate designs economically feasible.

Reduced Time to Market

Through rapid prototyping and by eliminating the need for tooling and mold construction, additive manufacturing significantly reduces the development cycle of ceramic components. By expediting the development phase, we help you achieve a market-ready product faster, giving you a competitive edge.

Top Applications for Ceramic 3D Printing

By combining the unique properties of technical ceramics and the flexibility of 3D printing, SINTX is able to create high-performance 3D printed ceramic parts for a broad spectrum of applications, paving the way for unprecedented innovation.

Precision Investment Casting

Our proprietary 3D printing technology can fabricate complex ceramic cores and molds out of our silica-based resin for precision investment casting and has successfully produced advanced, cooled turbine blades in one step, streamlining the ceramic core and wax pattern fabrication process.

  • Investment Casting Cores
  • Investment Casting Molds
  • Ceramic Foundry Filters

Biomedical Implants

The precision that can be achieved through 3d printing, coupled with the biocompatible nature of FLEX-SN PEEK enables the development of highly-custom medical implants via additive manufacturing with enticing characteristics such as decreased chance of infection, enhanced osteopromotion, and improved imaging.

  • Spinal Fusion Implants
  • Foot Fusion Implants
  • Craniomaxillofacial Implants

Medical Components

Our additive manufacturing capabilities allow for highly precise printing of biocompatible ceramics such as zirconia and alumina. These materials are cost effective for component applications which may have strict requirements on thermal properties or wear resistance. Furthermore, SINTX alumina resins have been used in the printing of electrosurgical insulators by global medical device customers for many years.

  • Electrosurgical Insulators
  • Wire Feedthroughs
  • Wheels for Pulleys

Thermal Management Devices

Alumina’s superior thermal properties make it an exemplary material for 3D printing thermal management devices such as heat exchangers, heater housings, and ceramic heat sinks. These applications benefit from alumina's ability to maintain performance at extreme temperatures and resist thermal shock.

  • Heat Exchangers
  • Heater Housings
  • Heat Sinks

SINTX - The Global Leader of Advanced Ceramic 3D Printing

With skilled engineering and planning, ceramic 3D printing can produce ceramic parts with optimal properties and geometries that were once considered unachievable. As a manufacturing partner, SINTX’s strength lies in combining the unique properties of technical ceramics with the flexibility of 3D printing to engineer high-performance ceramic parts and prototypes that outperform alternative materials. Our proprietary, lithography-based approach to ceramic 3D printing significantly shortens manufacturing times for ceramic components, providing clients with a competitive edge through these pathways:

  • Elimination of Tooling Time
  • Elimination of Mold Construction
  • Shortened Development Cycles
  • Geometric Design Freedom
  • Elimination of Machining Needs
  • Rapid/Parallel Design Iterations
  • Accelerated Time to Market

SINTX offers ceramic 3D printing services precisely tailored to your business’s unique needs. Our partnership begins with a focused understanding of your objectives, ensuring our advanced solutions align seamlessly with your goals. From conceptualization to final production and quality control, our team is committed to providing comprehensive support. Partner with SINTX for a collaboration that transforms your ideas into tangible, high-quality ceramic products.

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