Additive manufacturing of highly textured alumina ceramics

Abstract

In this work we demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating textured alumina employing a lithography-based ceramic manufacturing process. The combination of vat rotation and platform immersion contributes to the alignment of alumina templates during printing. Templated Grain Growth during sintering provides a high degree of texture (Lotgering Factor ​~ ​0.80) with relatively low porosity (approx. 7%). A comparable characteristic biaxial strength of 640 ​MPa and 570 ​MPa was measured for textured and equiaxed alumina samples, opening the path for 3D printing textured ceramics of complex architectures for structural and functional applications.