Lithoz launches a large-format 3D printer for ceramics

Lithoz – the Austrian manufacturer of industrial 3D printers for ceramics, has launched a new, multi-format device called CeraMax Vario V900. The 3D printer can produce relatively large, for precision ceramics, thick-walled, full-density parts using oxide and oxide-free ceramics, including dark ceramics in the form of silicon carbide.

Lithoz 3D printers use LIS (Laser Induced Slipcasting) technology, which enables 3D printing of applications using industrial water suspensions with a very low organic binder content. The slurry completely absorbs the laser beam, which selectively binds the material layer by layer. As the manufacturing process is only heat induced, even dark ceramics such as silicon carbide can be processed without problems without losing the desired properties. Silicon carbide, one of the most sought-after technical ceramics – both in terms of its mechanical properties and the wide range of possible applications. At the same time, it is quite difficult to process using additive technologies based on light.

CeraMax Vario V900 combines all the most desirable properties of technical ceramics, such as low organic binder content, the possibility of using water-based materials and creating green parts that can be easily processed. Thanks to the simplified removal of the binder, the CeraMax Vario V900 can achieve wall thicknesses that have not been possible with previous ceramic 3D printing technologies.

The CeraMax Vario V900 has a working area of ​​250 x 250 x 290 mm and the possibility of processing slurries up to 1000 µm per layer. The full technical specification of the device is:

• working area: 250 x 250 x 290 mm
• thickness of the printed layers: 200 – 1,000 µm
• optics: F-Theta lens and high-speed scanner
• CO2 laser spot diameter (1 / E2) – 0.5mm
• scanning speed: up to 8 m / s
• layer height: 200 – 1,000 µm.

The central element of the CeraMax Vario is the database-based storage and management of all process data, enabling trouble-free documentation of the tasks performed on a 3D printer. Optional software updates enable control or adjustment of parameters, as well as structuring of production data and the possibility to monitor the process in real time using remote video transmission.

Source: www.lithoz.com