Ceramics offer material properties that are not available in plastic and metal materials and their selection for a particular application should be based on their advantageous properties. The general properties of ceramics relative to metals and polymers are summarized below.
Ceramic vs. Metals
Compared to metals, ceramics generally have higher hardness and stiffness, have greater chemical resistance and are more thermally stable (lower thermal expansion and higher use temperatures). The thermal conductivity of ceramics range from relatively low (~2 W/mK, much lower than metals) to relatively high (>200 W/mK, higher than aluminum, about 50% of copper).
Ceramics vs. Plastics
Compared to plastics, ceramics are generally much stronger, stiffer, and harder. They are also distinguished from plastics by their much higher thermal stability and chemical resistance. Both are electrically insulating and used as substrates for microelectronic packaging (printed circuit boards and multilayer ceramic packages).
Forming Ceramic Shapes
The high hardness and low fracture toughness of ceramics make them difficult to form into complex shapes. The layer-by-layer additive build process of stereolithography enables the fabrication of high aspect ratio features that are not feasible using conventional ceramic processing.
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