Processing of advanced electroceramic components by fused deposition technique

A variety of advanced ceramic components were fabricated using the fused deposition of ceramics (FDC) process. In FDC, ceramic loaded polymer filaments are used to build parts in a layer-by-layer fashion. A process map, based on the compressive strength and modulus of the FDC feedstock, was developed to predict the feasibility of deposition with a variety of FDC filaments. Alumina structures with photonic bandgap properties were deposited for high frequency (GHz) applications. Net shape bismuth titanate components with oriented grains were fabricated by pre-alignment of small volume of seeds in green FDC parts, followed by grain growth treatment. Piezoelectric actuators with novel structures such as spiral and bellows were manufactured and studied. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.