Advanced Technical Ceramic Manufacturing
Plus Precision Machining of Polyurethane and Plastics
About Ceramics
Ceramics can be defined as inorganic, non-metallic materials that are typically produced using clays and other minerals from the earth or chemically processed powder. The broad categories or segments that make up the ceramic industry can be classified as follows: traditional ceramics, technical ceramics, and advanced ceramics.
Traditional Ceramics
Most people, when they hear the word ceramics, they think of art, dinnerware, pottery, tiles, brick and toilets. These ceramic products are commonly referred to as traditional ceramics. Some applications of traditional ceramics date back to about 8,000 BC.
Technical Ceramics
This category of ceramics, known as technical ceramics, has long become a ubiquitous feature in our lives for more than one hundred years. Many household appliances would not be able to function without ceramic insulators, such as electrical fuse and circuit breaker components, which are essential to a safe and reliable power supply. Technical ceramics are used in making spark plugs, which are essential components in automobiles and other internal combustion engines like lawn mowers, chain saw or weed eaters.
Advanced Ceramics
Advanced ceramics refer to many technical ceramics, which exhibit superior mechanical and physical properties. These include superior corrosion/oxidation resistance, and thermal, electrical, optical or magnetic properties. Advanced technical ceramics generally include structural ceramics, electronic ceramics, ceramic coatings, and bio-ceramics.
The advanced technical ceramics era began approximately fifty years ago. These ceramics are made using chemically prepared powders so that the chemical purity and important physical properties can be controlled. Today, the market for advanced technical ceramics is large and growing as they continue to replace more traditional materials like metals and plastics in many applications while providing the only material solution in some specific and strategic applications. In many cases advanced technical ceramics are used with other materials to make up only part of an overall system.