Cellular ceramics produced by rapid prototyping and replication

Rapid prototyping techniques such as stereolithography and selective laser curing have been utilized to produce preceramic articles to be further pyrolyzed and infiltrated with molten silicon. Recently they were also used for near to net shape cellular Si–SiC manufacturing. In this study we propose a hybrid methodology that can realize cellular ceramic structures of any shape by combining 3D printing of polymer inks with replication. This hybrid method overcomes the surface finish limitations of the current RP techniques by manufacturing cellular structures with a fine microstructure and an engineered cavity. RP structures showed higher compression strengths then foams both produced with the same replication technique.

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► We realized cellular ceramic structures, by 3D printing of polymer inks and replication.
► We developed a parametric script which generates such structures.
► Resulting cellular ceramics have a smooth surface and a fine microstructure.
► These new structures show outstanding effective mechanical properties.