Current Status and Prospect of Additive Manufacturing Piezoceramics

Abstract

As an important functional material, piezoelectric ceramics not only have the characteristics of high strength, high hardness, corrosion resistance, etc., but also can realize the mutual conversion between mechanical energy and electrical energy. Piezoelectric ceramics are widely used in sensors, drivers, capacitors and other piezoelectric parts, playing an important role in high-end equipment such as marine exploration, biomedicine, and electronic communications. The development requirements of intelligent, integrated, and lightweight piezoelectric functional devices in advanced technology fields have pushed their shape more and more complex. However, traditional fabricating processes, such as slip casting, injection molding, mould pressing, and machining, depend on molds or grinding tools. It is difficult to design and fabricate complex shape piezoelectric ceramics, especially with hollows and overhangs. Additive manufacturing technology can rapidly fabricate any complex structure parts based on the layer-by-layer fabricating principle with advantages of high molding efficiency and without molds. It can meet the needs of individualized, integration and complex manufacturing. In recent years, it has received extensive attention from researchers in the field of piezoelectric ceramics in both domestic and abroad. This article summarizes the main types of current additive manufacturing piezoelectric ceramics and their development status from the perspective of three raw material forms: powder, slurry and bulk materials, then comprehensively compares the characteristics of various processes. Application of additive manufacturing of piezoelectric ceramics in different fields has also been introduced. Finally, the challenges faced by additive manufacturing piezoelectric ceramics and the possible future development trends are summarized and prospected.