Additive Manufacturing of Ceramics: A Review

Additive manufacturing (AM) of ceramics is coming to an aera where the first industrial applications are becoming economically profitable. This review paper provides a survey of AM methods reported in literature to shape ceramic components. It demonstrates that AM has produced ceramic parts that have no cracks or large pores and have mechanical properties close to those of conventionally produced ceramics. Crack- and pore-free ceramics can be manufactured by optimizing the AM process parameters or performing extra densification steps after the AM process. It is also advisable to incorporate colloidal processing techniques in the AM process. Finally, the paper demonstrates that, especially for AM of ceramics, the multi-step indirect AM processes are more appropriate to shape different types of ceramics, while the single-step direct AM processes can produce ceramic parts more rapidly.