3DCeram Sinto and Avignon Ceramic detail ceramic 3D printing partnership in new video
French companies showed how additive manufacturing addressed casting-core geometries injection molding could not produce
3DCeram Sinto has released a video detailing a co-development partnership with Avignon Ceramic, a French ceramic injection molding (CIM) manufacturer that has expanded into ceramic 3D printing since 2017. The video covered how additive manufacturing addressed core geometries that injection molding could not produce and outlined the companies’ joint development of materials and process for aerospace casting.
From injection to 3D printing
Avignon Ceramic has historically specialized in CIM for ceramic cores used in investment casting, serving aerospace and gas turbine customers including Howmet, Rolls-Royce and Safran, according to the video. Ceramic injection could not produce increasingly complex geometries such as double- or triple-skin cores, the company said, a limitation that drove Avignon Ceramic to develop ceramic 3D printing capabilities starting in 2017 and pursue a collaboration with 3DCeram.
A jointly developed material
The partnership paired Avignon Ceramic’s expertise in minerals and cores with 3DCeram’s knowledge of organic binders for 3D printing, according to the companies, resulting in an SLA-printable ceramic core paste for DS/SX casting.
Avignon Ceramic used 3DCeram’s C100 Easy printer, which offers a large number of adjustable parameters for a range of print types, said Juile Josso, Chemical Engineer specializing in Materials at Avignon Ceramic.Â
The machine’s top-down stereolithography (SLA) process produced parts closely matching CAD design and avoided defects such as delamination and warping, Josso said, and the printer required little maintenance for regular industrial use.
Faster turnaround for aerospace customers
Designing and manufacturing a mold traditionally took weeks or months, whereas 3D printing delivered a finished part — printing, firing and finishing included — within two weeks, and design changes could be made within hours, the companies reported.Â
In 2025, that turnaround led a major aerospace company to adopt 3D printing for a test on military parts, a project that later moved into short-run production, according to 3DCeram Sinto.
