CIM specialist Formatec adds ceramic AM to its production offering
February 15, 2020
Formatec Ceramics, Goirle, the Netherlands, has added ceramic Additive Manufacturing (AM) to its production services. The company has for twenty years offered Ceramic Injection Moulding services, from consulting and engineering across the full process chain of tooling development, injection moulding, debinding and sintering, finishing and quality control.
The company specialises in the production of CIM parts for the chemical, medical and aesthetic industries, where the need for excellent product properties and finish quality is inherent. The addition of ceramic AM is expected to enable the company to achieve similar material properties as with CIM, while reducing production time, labour and costs and adding value through the ability to produce more geometrically complex parts.
René Bult, General Manager of Formatec, commented, “With our team we can offer our customers added value through our extensive knowledge and experience with ceramics as a CIM pioneer. This combined with the almost endless possibilities that 3D printing offers we are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Formatec now offers five different ceramic production methods, making it possible to identify and pursue the best fit for each of its customers depending on quantity, investment and lead time. One company which recently opted to use Formatec’s ceramic AM capabilities is Thermo Fisher Scientific. Peter Glajc, a Mechanical Engineer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, explained, “We‘ve chosen 3D printing because we wanted to compare this quite new and interesting technique with ‘standard’ ceramics manufacturing. 3D printing was cheaper and faster.”
