How to become bigger and stronger special ceramics

Special ceramics are widely used in various industrial fields, is the development direction of the ceramic industry. US, China and Japan develop special ceramic is more mature, not only the level of research in special ceramics, and also reflected in the technical ceramic products market applications.

1 Relying on the advantages of the industry, the development of ancillary products

Energy, information and materials are the three pillars of modern science and technology, the emergence of new technologies sometimes largely brought about a breakthrough material properties, it is because the development of new technologies often rely on new materials to reflect its new features . When special ceramic with unique mechanical properties (structural ceramics) and physical properties (ceramics), to replace traditional materials used as structural components or various functional components, often produce traditional materials can not match the superior performance, such as precision ceramic seals, show excellent resistance to corrosion, wear and sealing performance, which is the metal seal valve can not be compared.

Past industry ceramic materials for industrial components do not know much, with the extensive popularity of educational materials research, engineers on the gradually deepening understanding of the ceramic material, the application of ceramic parts in the industrial field increasingly widespread, almost all industrial areas have ceramic parts applications. Therefore, strengthening the analysis of the domestic and international markets for additional industrial demand for the material properties, relying on the advantages of enterprises, supporting the development of products, especially in the automotive industry, electronic industry, textile industry and environmental protection industry of ceramic components required by the above-mentioned industry-related cartel to targeted development and production of engineering ceramic components is one of the main ways the current development of special ceramics.

For example, Japanese Denso Corporation (Denso) Ceramic Technology is this mode of operation, Denso is a company with automotive products as the main business scope of large group companies in semiconductor, telecommunication communications, bio-engineering and other fields. The company has specialized ceramic technology under the Ministry, a total of 1,800 employees, the ministry headquarters use the advantages in the automotive industry, professional development and supporting the automobile industry ceramic parts, the main products are: a spark plug, the car temperature sensor, electronic control ceramic components and ceramic honeycomb, with sales in 1999 amounted to $ 413 million. Professional ceramic parts needed for development of automobile industry is the most significant feature of the companys ceramics division, which is the development of Chinas industrial ceramics very enlightening.

Ceramic products, this visit is that the companys cellular ceramic production line, the technology imported from the United States Corning, specializing in the production and development of high-grade ceramic honeycomb market, small, benefits are considerable. After decades of development, cellular ceramic substrate foreign automotive production has been very mature, high degree of automation, industrial technology class. With the development of Chinas automobile industry, the potential of this market is very high.

2 short length of employment, make up our own

Development of special ceramic material borrowed from other industries in a number of related technology, the development of special ceramics must be closely integrated with other industrial technologies. Indeed ceramic technology is just a part of modern ceramic manufacturing processes, other techniques such as special ceramics supporting development and production of mechanical design and processing, chemistry and chemical technology and photovoltaic technology is vital link. Such as the visit of US technology company Quest (Quest Technology. LP) will be applied to its various technical ceramic products, thus ensuring product quality. According to reports, the company employs 32 people, the annual output of about 2 million US dollars, was established in 1994 when only four employees, its business mainly in California, the production of fine porcelain industry. This is a typical growth specialty ceramics company.

The companys core technology is the injection molding process and mold manufacturing technology. The current production of major products are aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride and other special ceramic composite ceramics are being developed are silicon nitride, aluminum nitride and silicon carbide products. Its biggest feature is the production of injection molding process utilized, plastic molding ceramic material must be added a large number of chemical additives, involving chemical technology. With this technology, the porcelain pieces the size of high precision, without further processing. Due to limitations molding methods, product size are small, but complex shape, such as a ceramic screws, thin walled complex components, various openings pieces, foreign 1.5mm and an inner diameter of tens of micrometers porcelain products very high accuracy.

The company has a very strong design and development capabilities mold processing means, for customers product requirements, mold design and processing computerized, from the drawing board to the trial product samples only 10 days, so to speed up the product development cycle, in line with technical ceramic products small batch, product specifications development model. Injection molding pressure, high dimensional accuracy, suitable for mass industrial production. By injection molding process to produce high quality industrial ceramics widget to replace the traditional hot die casting, it is a way to improve the quality of industrial ceramic products.

Moreover, in Japans Narita visit the pottery, machining has a strong technical force. The company is located in the city of Seto in Aichi Prefecture, is a family-owned ceramics factory evolved, has become a group company, 99 with an annual output value of 6.6 billion yen, of which the output value accounted for 50% of this. That the existing 183 employees, including seven full-time researchers. The main products for all types of ignition, infrared burners, for molten metal filtration ceramic foam products, there are a wide variety of other types of porcelain (alumina hollow ball, silicon nitride grinding balls, ceramic knives, all kinds of insulation porcelain pieces, porcelain arrester casing, etc.) as well as a small private kilns, in addition to a modern plant, it is particularly impressed by the plants mold manufacturing workshop, with CNC machine tools, including including advanced mechanical processing equipment, machining capacity of strong, I am afraid that many domestic professional factories are far behind.

3 The "ism" - through the introduction of technology and capital to accelerate the development of technical ceramics adoption obtain the production license or technology transfer approach, is currently one of the means of many industries, the rapid development of a high starting point, through the introduction of technology and funds The same technology can accelerate the development of ceramics. In this regard, this study of Applied Ceramics (Applied Ceramicss, Inc) and Japans Denso Corp. (Denso) ceramic honeycomb filter production are developed in this manner. Applied Ceramics is obtained by way of purchase of this technology, and through its own technology to develop a variety of filter materials, a series products. Japans Denso Corp. is the introduction of a production license to grow and develop through the US Corning their cars with ceramic filter products. The two companies currently crafting ceramic honeycomb, ceramic honeycomb market in place.

1980s, Applied Ceramics Company purchased a cellular ceramic production technology, based on the development of multi-purpose products, such as automobile exhaust purification ceramic honeycomb carrier, the molten metal filter materials, thermal porous material. According to reports, since the automobile exhaust purification ceramic honeycomb carrier, American Corning and NGK Japan is dominated by more than 90% of global market share to divide them both, so they pay more attention to some of the special needs and high grade honeycomb ceramic carrier market, while developing a ceramic catalyst carriers in other areas of chemical applications. The company is taking the honeycomb ceramic multi-species, the development direction of high value-added, to avoid competition with the front Corning and NGK companys products. The company has a joint development with automobile manufacturers of the products, such as the Hyundai Group, and General Motors formed a joint venture to produce cars with a honeycomb ceramic carrier were successful.

4 Research and Development

I believe the importance of research and development at present no one doubts, but how to organize research and development, is indeed a science, better organized, more effective, the results of numerous, on the contrary, it will only be a waste of resources or a wedding dress for others. Typically Production Companies R & D is generally around their leading products, related product development based on customer requirements and market orientation, the strength of the company will organize professional R & D personnel in the forward-looking product development and technical reserves. The visit of RHI Refractories America and Japan, Nagoya Institute of Technology research and development company in the distinctive, their R & D approach is worth our reference. RHI Refractories Americas research and development focus on their industry characteristics, application areas targeted specifically address the problem, the company is owned by the Austrian company RHI Refractories large company with annual sales in the United States was $ 2.4 billion, which is used 45% of the steel industry, for glass, cement, non-ferrous metals accounted for 55% of the total. The company is located in Pittsburghs Research and Development Centers main business is to conduct research and analysis for a variety of problems of steel, glass, nonferrous metals, cement and other industries encountered in industrial applications.

The centers research and development based on the companys main business, directly facing the production and marketing, is a service-oriented R & D. Its existence and development depends on its service capability and advanced equipment means that the center has a very good physical and chemical detection equipment and a variety of experimental furnace. Physical and chemical detection equipment: X- ray diffraction, spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis, room temperature, high-temperature and high-temperature creep strength meter testing device. There are a variety of experimental furnace small electric kiln and shuttle kiln in the trial. The Centre for the management of raw materials to impress us is at the center of the mineral raw material reserves almost all countries of the sample in the world, including Chinas high bauxite, magnesia and the like. For what strategic purpose is not very clear, but the raw material resources of this management is very enlightening for us.

Nagoya, Japan Industrial Technology Research Institute is a national research and development institutions, with its R & D is largely experimental and forward-looking, visit us understand the current trends in Japan in special ceramics that makes the study. The Institute is one of 15 National Institute of Industrial Technology Research Institute in Japan through a subsidiary producing province, the existing research staff of 220 people, and another 50 support staff, their research funding is mainly funded by the government.

The focus of the research: a ceramics cooperative structure; with nanograins super metal, a clean environment, reduce pollution ceramic material; biological ceramics; having superplasticity of ceramics; electronics industry applications oxide ceramics; and energy-related ceramics; lightweight materials. Biological ceramics, one of the key directions of the research and development is a synthetic ceramic joint material, ceramics and human bones because the organization has a certain affinity, compared with metal artificial joints, ceramic artificial joints with greater market prospects. To solve the problem of brittle ceramic materials, the Institute developed a complex technical ceramics and titanium alloys, through technical processing, in the titanium implant hydroxyapatite ceramics to achieve two kinds of composites industrialization experiment is under way .

Environmental Ceramics is one of the main directions of special ceramics research, the Institute is developing another new material through the porous surface of the structural adjustment and physical properties, enabling the regulation of air humidity, as an intelligent building materials, there are It may be applied in the future so-called smart house.

Another technique is the use of a synthetic ceramic powder, for removing acid gas in the chemical industry, through the reaction tower, the powder is reacted with hydrochloric acid gas, the reaction products can be recycled, the environmental technology are in the trial.

5 Conclusion

With the development of modern industry, special ceramics applications more widely, at present, special ceramics new applications are constantly developing, special ceramics for more and more people are interested in, but because of special ceramic industry special nature, the development of special ceramics market is still not enough. So how to choose a mature special ceramic products, and the product successfully cut into its field of application is also the prime enterprises and research institutions need to be addressed. In short, the development of special ceramics, promising, long way to go.