GraCerLit – Development of Functionally Graded Ceramics by Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM)

Project Information

GraCerLit

Grant agreement ID: 101020104

DOI

10.3030/101020104

Project closed

EC signature date 12 April 2021

Start date 1 August 2021

End date 31 July 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 186 167,04

EU contribution

€ 186 167,04

Coordinated by

LITHOZ GMBH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GraCerLit (GraCerLit – Development of Functionally Graded Ceramics by Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM))

Reporting period: 2021-08-01 to 2023-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In recent years, an interest has been given to functionally graded ceramics (FGCs) since high-complex and sustainable technical ceramics are increasingly requested in almost every field of applications. Additive manufacturing (AM) methods open new possibilities by providing flexibility for tailored design of material composition, complicated shapes, and functional complexity in ceramic manufacturing. The overall objective of GraCerLit project is to develop lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM) printing setup and approaches for AM of FGCs by simultaneous processing of two photocurable suspensions that will allow series production of customized and multifunctional components with a control of the architecture and microstructure at all scales. The project focuses at three specific objectives.
1) Adapting the LCM process and development of multi-material (MM) printing approaches that will allow grading in material and/or material properties.
2) Production and characterization of FGC samples including selection of optimal slurries, process parameters and thermal post-processing.
3) Generation of process-structure-property (PSP) relations by regression analysis with machine learning (ML) algorithms for the optimization of material and process parameters

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In WP1: Project Management and Training the career development plan, project management plan and data management plan reports were prepared. ER attended the trainings offered by host institute that support the research activities in the project and future career development of the ER.
The subject related patents, publications and reports were reviewed in WP2: State-of-art, Specifications and Needs Assessment. After the preparation of state-of-art and needs analysis, the review article was published.
In the WP3: Development of a Lithography-based Printing Setup, seven printing approaches were developed allowing the introduction of gradient regions, three printing approaches were selected and used in the project.
In WP4: Production and Characterization of Functionally Graded Ceramic (FGC) Samples, porosity, microstructural and compositional graded ceramic parts were printed and characterized. The main results of WP4 were published in the articles and presented in various conferences/exhibitions.

In WP5: Development of Process -Structure-Property (PSP) Relations with Machine Learning (ML), ML algorithms were used to forecast the shrinkage factor of porous alumina samples by changing five parameters. The preliminary results were presented in the XVIII. Conference of the European Ceramic Society conference in Lyon. The article that will represent the results is in preparation.

Dissemination, exploitation, and communication activities performed according to WP6: Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication (DEC) of Results are given in the following. Below the list of published articles and the presentations done by ER and the supervisor are provided.
Publications
1. S. Nohut, J. Schlacher, I. Kraleva, M. Schwentenwein, R. Bermejo, “3D-printed alumina-based ceramics with spatially resolved porosity”, Int. J. Appl. Ceram., 2023, online available.
2. S. Nohut, S. Geier, I. Kraleva, M. Schwentenwein, R. Bermejo, “Functionally graded ceramics by lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM)”, JAMTECH, 2(1), 678, 2023.
3. Zorin, D. Brouczek, S. Geier, S. Nohut, J. Eichelseder, G. Huss, M. Schwentenwein, B. Heise, “Mid-infrared optical coherence tomography as a method for inspection and quality assurance in ceramics additive manufacturing”, Open Ceram., 12, 100311, 2022.
4. S. Nohut, S. Geier, I. Kraleva, M. Schwentenwein, R. Bermejo, “Lithography-based additive manufacturing of porosity graded alumina”, Addit. Manuf. Lett., 3, 100060, 2022.
5. S. Nohut, M. Schwentenwein, “Vat photopolymerization additive manufacturing of functionally graded materials: A review”, J. Manuf. Mater. Process., 6(1), 17, 2022.

Presentations
1. "Lithography-based ceramic manufacturing of porosity graded alumina and hydroxyapatite ceramics", XVIII. Conference of the European Ceramic Society (ECerS), Lyon, France, 2-6 July 2023.
2. “3D ceramics for 3D printed electronic applications”, Digital & 3D Additive Manufacturing of Electronics, Sensors, Photovoltaics, Displays, TechBlick (virtual), 30 March 2023.
3. "Lithography-based additive manufacturing of multi-material ceramic components", AM CERAMICS 2022, Dresden, Germany, 12-13 October 2022.
4. "Functionally graded ceramics by lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM)", AMCTURKEY 2022, Aydin, Türkiye, 6-8 October 2022.
5. "Ceramic-ceramic multi-material components by lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM)", 23. Symposium Verbundwerkstoffe und Werkstoffverbunde, Leoben, Austria, 20-22 July 2022
6. "Fabrication of porosity graded ceramics by lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM)", Ceramics in Europe, Krakow, Poland, 10-14 July 2022.
7. "Process design for lithography-based ceramic manufacturing of multi-materials", Ceramitec, Munich, Germany, 21-24 June 2022.
Posters
1. L. Mateus, J. Schlacher, S. Nohut, M. Schwentenwein, R. Bermejo, “Thermal shock behaviour of 3D-printed alumina ceramics with spatially tailored porosity “, yCAM 2023, Leoben, Austria, 30 August – 1 September 2023.
Workshops/trainings
1. LCM hands-on Workshop, XVIII Conference and Exhibition of ECerS, Lyon, France, 2-6 July 2023
2. GraCerLit Workshop “Functionally Graded Ceramics - The Next Dimension of Multi-Material Ceramic 3D Printing” (virtual), 23 March 2023
Webinars/seminars
1. S. Nohut, “A New Dimension of Ceramic Additive Manufacturing: Multi-layered and Functionally Graded Ceramics”, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, 25 May 2023 (virtual).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

As an output of the project, it is now possible to produce different kinds of FGCs with LCM technology with high dimensional accuracy and precision. Since LCM is applicable with almost all kinds of materials, the project outputs will have a high potential to be used by universities, research institutes and companies in various sectors (e.g. manufacturing, aerospace, automobile, electronic devices, dental and medical industry, ceramics). In the GraCerLit project, the parts with high complex geometries were produced with near-net shape. In our project, no hazardous or toxic gases were released during the production process. Among all AM methods, LCM method is the one that uses almost the lowest amount of material for manufacturing. Furthermore, the cleaning stage between two vats minimized the contamination of different materials and enabled the reuse of slurries inside the vats. One important innovation that Industry 5.0 has added to our lives, is that mass-produced parts are replaced by personalized or application-specific products and this forms the social sustainability aspect. It is very important especially for dental and biomedical applications where specific and custom ceramic parts must be offered. The design flexibility will enable production of hyper-personalized biomedical and dental FGC parts (e.g. porosity gradient ceramics for bone replacement that allow bone regeneration). With the results of GraCerLit, the FGC prototyping will not require long production and molding processes. Furthermore, since the developed method can be applied by powders and raw materials from different suppliers, the lead time can be reduced with more efficient selection and replacement of suppliers.

Porosity graded alumina ceramics produced in the framework of project

Presentation at Ceramitec 2022

A scene from the GraCerLit video

Poster presentation at Verbund 2022 in Leoben