AL-300 grade alumina is an industry standard aluminium oxide ceramic valued for its superior dielectric strength, strong metallization capability, and high strength. Morgan Technical Ceramics plans to demonstrate how this ceramic can be used in x-ray power tubes during the RSNA 2018 conference.
Clay Booth, Commercial Director North America at Morgan Advanced Materials, said “We’re very excited to introduce 3D printing into the medical industry. This technology has the potential to allow engineers to produce designs that are just not possible through other production methods that require moving tools, or subtractive machining of shapes.
“To our knowledge, no one has produced a 3D ceramic form from an existing formulation that has been proven successful for decades, like AL-300 alumina. We’re now looking to take this to the next step to see how 3D printing can solve our customers’ challenges and fit into their plans.”
One of the biggest challenges of ceramics engineering is placing features on internal surfaces that are typically difficult and costly to machine. 3D parts can allow hidden features or multiple part assemblies to be made simply in one single engineered piece. A key benefit for engineers is that they can integrate cooling channels for future high temperature applications.
RSNA 2018 is the Radiological Society of North America’s 104th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, and the exhibition takes place between November 25-30 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Morgan Advanced Materials
