---
title: "At the forefront of ceramic additive manufacturing R&D"
url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/forefront-ceramic-additive-manufacturing-research/
date: 2025-12-30
modified: 2025-12-19
lang: en
author: "Tess Boissonneault"
description: "This article was originally published in VoxelMatters' Ceramic AM Focus 2025 eBook. The full edition can be found here. While industrial ceramic AM has been blossoming thanks to the innovations..."
categories:
  - "AM Research"
  - "Ceramic Additive Manufacturing"
  - "Research & Education"
tags:
  - "Featured"
image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ceramic-rahman-newsroom1-640x480.jpg
word_count: 1293
---

# At the forefront of ceramic additive manufacturing R&D

*This article was originally published in VoxelMatters' Ceramic AM Focus 2025 eBook. The full edition can be found [here](https://www.voxelmatters.com/voxelmatters-ceramic-am-focus-2025-ebook/).*

While industrial ceramic AM has been blossoming thanks to the innovations and dedication of a small group of companies, the field is still young and niche, meaning that much is still happening in the research sphere. In this article, we want to highlight some recent advancements and breakthroughs in ceramic AM that are coming out of academic labs and are influencing the future of the segment.

## Origami-inspired 3D printed ceramic metamaterials 

This past spring, a team of researchers out of the University of Houston in Texas revealed that it had developed a [new class of 3D printed ceramic structures](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.voxelmatters.com/researchers-develop-new-class-of-3d-printed-ceramics/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1766165759840816&usg=AOvVaw1PEqRydpvpXH--lxl8aaXF) capable of bending under pressure without breaking. By leveraging origami-like geometries and applying a soft polymer coating to 3D printed ceramics, the researchers found that they could mitigate the typically brittle properties of ceramics, which can fracture or shatter under stress. 

[![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/thakur-maksud-ceramics-newsroom-340x255.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/thakur-maksud-ceramics-newsroom.jpg)

The research team, led by Dr. Maksud Rahman, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and postdoctoral fellow Md Shajedul Hoque Thakur, could expand the potential applications for 3D printed ceramics, particularly in areas like healthcare and aerospace and robotics, where properties like biocompatibility, light weight and strength are a priority. “Ceramics are incredibly useful—biocompatible, lightweight, and durable in the right conditions—but they fail catastrophically,” commented Dr. Rahman. “Our goal was to engineer that failure into something more graceful and safer.”

In their work, the researchers drew from the Japanese art of folding paper and specifically the Miura-ori fold, which turns a large flat surface into a smaller flat surface. By applying this design principle to a 3D printed ceramic model—and coating the print in a hyperelastic biocompatible polymer—the researchers were able to create ceramic structures that could better withstand stresses and compression. “The origami geometry gave us mechanical adaptability,” added Thakur. “And the polymer coating introduced just enough flexibility to prevent sudden breakage.”

The research team used an SLA-based ceramic AM process and a silica-based material to create a structure with “folds” measuring 2 mm in thickness. After sintering, the ceramic part was dipped into a de-aired PDMS solution under vacuum to achieve a uniform coating of roughly 75-100 μm. The results, as the[ research details](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42114-025-01284-3), are highly promising, with static and cyclic compression tests demonstrating superior toughness, especially in directions where the original ceramic component was most brittle.

## 3D printed dark ceramics for advanced hypersonics 

 A team of researchers from the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI) are developing a process to [3D print complex components made from dark ceramics](https://www.voxelmatters.com/pari-advances-hypersonics-with-novel-3d-printed-dark-ceramics/), a class of ceramic materials that can withstand the intense pressures and conditions of hypersonic flight. 

At five times the speed of sound, hypersonic flight requires aircraft that are extremely robust and durable. To meet these requirements, the PARI researchers are investigating the use of dark ceramics, which are more resistant to degradation and failure in extreme atmospheric conditions. In doing this, the team, led by Rodney Trice, professor in the College of Engineering’s School of Materials Engineering, must overcome certain challenges associated with 3D printing dark ceramics.

[![PARI advances hypersonics with 3D printed dark ceramics, which are less likely to crack or degrade due to extreme atmospheric conditions.](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PT-Dark-ceramics-340x191.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PT-Dark-ceramics.jpg)(Source: Purdue)

Specifically, the dark color of this type of material interacts differently with UV light in the printing process compared to more typical light ceramics, like alumina. While the latter reflects and scatters light to harden an entire layer, dark ceramics absorb the light, which affects the curing process. “Because dark powders absorb the UV light that would be necessary to cure the material, we cannot form as thick of a layer,” explained Trice. “Therefore, we get cure depths that are too thin, which then negatively impacts the time it takes to build each part.”

The team is working with DLP 3D printing and is addressing the challenges of curing dark ceramics on various fronts, including resin materials, surface treatments and printing properties. Matthew Thompson, a materials engineering doctoral candidate and recipient of a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, elaborated saying: “We’ve been operating essentially as a research and development test bed for these materials. We’ve been tuning properties and performing surface modifications to improve their performance and enhance the printing process.”

To date, the researchers have printed a range of shapes using dark ceramics, including sharp cones and hemispheres, which are used in hypersonic aircraft. “What we’re trying to do is find solutions for how we can either set up a pipeline to make these parts or find strategies that actual stakeholders can use,” said Thompson. “So, it gives people a starting point to save time on the research and development for any new system.”

## Ultrafast thermal debinding technique for 3D printed zirconia

In early 2025, a team from the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) revealed its work on an [ultrafast thermal debinding (UFTD) technique](https://www.voxelmatters.com/uftd-method-achieves-30-minutes-binder-removal-in-3d-printed-zirconia/) that makes it possible to remove binder from a green ceramic printed part in under 30 minutes. This marks a huge time reduction compared to most current thermal debinding processes, which can take anywhere from 20 to 100 hours—and that’s all before sintering. 

[![UFTD Tethon 3D](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/UFTD-UT-Tethon-3D-2-340x220.jpg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/UFTD-UT-Tethon-3D-2.jpg)The UT Dallas research team developed the UFTD process using 3y’s zirconia slurry and a ceramic stereolithography 3D printer from Tethon 3D. The rapid debinding rates—up to 200 times faster than conventional thermal debinding—were ultimately achieved using a combination of vacuum pyrolysis and rapid heating with porous graphite felts. In more specific terms, the UFTD process operates in vacuum conditions and uses high-speed heating cycles, with heating rates of 100°C per second with specific dwell periods at multiple temperatures, culminating in final sintering at 1450°C for 2.5 minutes.

In addition to much faster debinding times, the innovative process also dramatically reduces energy consumption associated with the essential post-processing step. According to the research, UFTD uses 3,500 times less energy compared to standard methods. Moreover, the use of vacuum pyrolysis facilitates rapid gas evacuation, which helps to minimize internal stress and material waste.

This potentially game-changing technique could have big implications, particularly in industries like the dental sector that would benefit from the enhanced scalability of ceramic AM post-processing. “Think about being able to print a crown and then sinter in 30 minutes,” said Tethon 3D CEO Trent Allen to VoxelMatters. “In ceramic AM, we can offer some of the most affordable materials and hardware. We are hopeful we can provide a popular solution to the dental market, which is much more price-sensitive than the broader healthcare segment.”

## Hydrogel-infused additive manufacturing for ceramic components

Doctoral student Natalie Yaw, an intern at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been investigating a new 3D printing technique known as [hydrogen-infused additive manufacturing (HIAM)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/caltech-engineers-develop-new-method-for-3d-printing-metals/) for the creation of ceramic components. Unlike slurry and powder-based ceramic AM processes that use ceramic-loaded materials, HIAM uses a hydrogel material that is infused with aqueous metal cations. This hydrogel structure then undergoes calcination, which removes all the organic contents and transforms the metal cations (aka metal salts) into metal oxides.

[![LLNL intern expands understanding of ceramics in AM. Natalie Yaw has recently published work exploring HIAM of ceramics.](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/External_Ceramics_875x500-340x194.jpeg)](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/External_Ceramics_875x500.jpeg)

In her research, Yaw has found that the hydrogel scaffold formulations and the metal salts used to infuse the hydrogel influence the quality and morphology of the final ceramic component. For example, hydrogels have a big impact on the porosity of ceramic parts, with high-concentration hydrogel formulations resulting in ceramics with fewer cracks in their macrostructure. 

The type of metal salt also influences porosity and morphology, with chloride salts resulting in denser microstructures compared to nitrate salts. “These results demonstrate that the HIAM process can be tailored to deliver a wide range of ceramics successfully, provided precursor feedstocks are adequately optimized,” the research reads.

This research furthers the understanding of an alternative approach to ceramic AM, which does not start with a ceramic raw material and instead converts infused hydrogel structures into dense ceramic components.