Industry: Manufacturing Region: Turkey Transaction Price: USD 1 million Transaction Method: Equity Investment
Project introduction:
Turkish universities ha ve developed a new and advanced ceramic dough molding method, which is rapid molding by bridging solidified polymer. The transformation from ceramic manufacturing industry to Industry 4.0 lags behind other materials obviously. Based on the existing framework of EFPF (European Factory Platform), the university has developed an automated route for green processing of yttria-stabilized zirconia, which serves as a frontier demonstration of the integration of high-performance ceramics with EFPF. Green machining is a fast and economical near-net manufacturing method for ceramics. Compared with brittle sintered parts, the green body requires much less force, is not easy to crack, and will not cause tool wear. Through cold isostatic pressing (CIP) gel casting and protein solidification, the green body which can bear the extension deformation during processing is formed. CIP compacts ceramic particles and binder under pressure to realize machinable green body. This method requires an elastic mold to hold the preparation and a device to apply isostatic pressure, mainly by i) immersing the mold in a water bath (wet bag) and pressurizing the system, or ii) compressing the mold.
This technology (Ceramic 4.0) is about laser processing of advanced ceramics in green state. Ceramics 4.0 is a research project supported by the European factory platform, aiming at realizing the automation of green processing, so as to realize the dieless manufacturing and rapid prototyping of high-performance ceramics. It is based on the experience of material formulation, rheology, modeling and processing technology development. This method is an inclusive, barrier-free and non-profit environment, aiming at promoting innovation and creating commercial impact in the field of advanced ceramics.
The university is seeking to establish partnerships with companies with mature experience and knowledge to manufacture advanced or structural ceramics, or apply them to ceramic filters, thermocouple shields, high-temperature spacers or armors according to licensing agreements, manufacturing agreements or technical assistance commercial agreements.
Advantages of the project:
The proposed technology allows custom design and rapid prototyping of ceramic articles.
-Provide process monitoring and processing data sets for green processing.
-Access the open source tool path calculation module used to generate and correct 3D ceramic milling paths.
-Get green processing solutions based on materials through databases and easy-to-implement material formulas.
In addition, it has some economic, social and environmental impacts:
-This technology proposes an easy-to-implement, bench-top and cost-effective method, which does not require many chemicals or various steps in the whole process.
-Through digitalization, an integrated manufacturing method is being established, and the continuous state of ceramic green processing is connected into a module, which can be deployed on EFPF platform. This method will greatly reduce the test time based on custom design, up to 70%. At present, this method relies on "trial and error" or "one-time variable" method.
-It is possible to manufacture custom ceramic parts at a lower price and develop data-driven processing methods to improve the quality of parts. There are no other industrial and academic literatures about recyclable green objects. A truly "green" process will be designed to achieve recyclability, so as to reduce the impact and pollution on the environment.
Cooperation mode:
Looking for a partner is a company with experience and knowledge in manufacturing structural ceramics or applying it to ceramic filters, thermocouple shields, high-temperature spacers or armors. In other words, it is a ceramic dough manufacturer or structural ceramic supplier or a company that uses this material. In this case, cooperation will be formalized through licensing agreements, commercial agreements for manufacturing or technical assistance. Potential partners can be in ceramic manufacturing, electronics, national defense, a viation and automobile industries.