Technical Advantages
• Higher strength
• Higher hardness
• Superior wear and abrasion resistance
• Superior corrosion resistance
• Electrical insulator (oxide ceramics)
• Can be sintered using microwave radiation
Cost Advantages
• In general, ceramic is 2x to 5x more expensive than a comparable steel component. Ceramic
machining requires diamond tooling and longer processing time. That constitutes about 80% of
the cost.
• Net-shape ceramic manufacturing, however, can lower the cost by almost 80%, Example: ceramic
roller for film perforators is $10 vs. chrome plated steel roller is $45.
• For high volume requirements, ceramics can be injection molded. This lowers the cost to stainless
steel level.
Performance Advantages
• Typically, ceramics outperform steel by 5x to 50x
• In general, steel components are less prone to catastrophic failure vs. ceramic components
• Steel can withstand larger tensile force than ceramic
• Ceramic can withstand larger compressive force than steel
• Under high load, steel against steel is prone to galling – ceramic does not gall
• For specialized applications, steel requires an additional processing step to improve the surface
hardness
Our ceramic products outperform the hardest steel by 5 to 50 times with regards to longevity and are referred to as ceramic steel. The higher strength and higher hardness of our patented ceramic materials yield superior wear and abrasion resistance as well as superior corrosion resistance.
Our products also have excellent thermal and electrical insulation qualities when used at very high temperatures and in electrical components (oxide ceramics). Along with offering technology with outstanding usefulness, our proprietary Net-Shape manufacturing technique lowers manufacturing costs and is competitive with steel in terms of cost and time and speed of production.
Advantages of Ceramics vs. Steel
