Additive manufacturing of ceramics from preceramic polymers

Additive manufacturing of ceramics from preceramic polymers

Following extensive research by our outstanding doctoral candidate here, Dr. Wang, a publication in the journal Additive Manufacturing is now in press.

Here we show how preceramic polymers can be used to fabricate complex parts by 3D printing, which are then converted to dense highly resistant ceramics by pyrolysis. 

This report presents a groundbreaking new approach to the additive manufacturing of ceramic parts with greater complexity and mechanical performance.

A lattice structure printed here was found to have remarkably high compressive strength in comparison to other porous ceramics.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2019.02.012

Full text here

Abstract

Here we introduce a versatile stereolithographic route to produce three different kinds of Si-containing thermosets that yield high performance ceramics upon thermal treatment. Our approach is based on a fast and inexpensive thiol-ene free radical addition that can be applied for different classes of preceramic polymers with carbon-carbon double bonds. Due to the rapidity and efficiency of the thiol-ene click reactions, this additive manufacturing process can be effectively carried out using conventional light sources on benchtop printers. Through light initiated cross-linking, the liquid preceramic polymers transform into stable infusible thermosets that preserve their shape during the polymer-to-ceramic transformation. Through pyrolysis the thermosets transform into glassy ceramics with uniform shrinkage and high density. The obtained ceramic structures are nearly fully dense, have smooth surfaces, and are free from macroscopic voids and defects. A fabricated SiOC honeycomb was shown to exhibit a significantly higher compressive strength to weight ratio in comparison to other porous ceramics.