Tethon 3D and Showa Denko America develop high-purity alumina for ceramic Additive Manufacturing
Tethon Corporation Inc (Tethon 3D), Omaha, Nebraska, USA, has announced a collaboration with Showa Denko America, New York City, a subsidiary of global chemical company Showa Denko K.K., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The partnership has resulted in a high-purity alumina for ceramic Additive Manufacturing.
The alumina material, the first UV resin developed jointly by the two companies, has a ceramic loading of over 75% by volume and 90% by weight, which is reported to be 25% higher than competitor options. Due to this higher loading, shrinkage in the x, y and z axes is said to be less than 10% after sintering.
“It has been a pleasure working with the Showa Denko team. Tethon’s unmatched additive experience based around filled UV resins coupled with Showa Denko’s decades of experience in the inorganics, ceramics, and chemical sectors will revolutionise ceramic Additive Manufacturing,” stated Trent Allen, CEO of Tethon 3D. “Some ceramic additive solutions have issues with shrinkage which limits feature sizes and often creates unwanted warpage. This material and partnership set a new standard around material properties and reflects the original intent of the ceramic Additive Manufacturing industry.”
Masao Horayama, president of Showa Denko America, added, “We are expecting to see a lot of growth in ceramic additive over the next decade, and our Showa Denko America team has been looking to enter the additive market. We are very excited to launch this first alumina material designed for additive and believe working with an experienced materials team like Tethon is an appropriate venue for bringing Showa Denko’s material expertise to market.”
