Material properties

Sembach processes different ceramic materials. The term “technical ceramics” covers these wear-resistant materials such as alumina,  cordierite, forsterite, mixed oxides, pyrostat, steatite/stealan, superpyrostat or zirconia and silicon nitride.

Properties of technical ceramics

All specified materials are characterized by four basic properties:

• Electrical insulation
• Mechanical hardness
• Thermal conductivity and load capacity
• Aesthetic and decorative appearance

Each material exhibits these four properties to a different degree.

Technical ceramics offer many advantages

One of the main attributes of technical ceramics is their very good electrical insulation. Silicate ceramics reach the highest electrical resistance when compared with other ceramic materials. Another advantage of technical ceramics is thermal conductivity. It is generally very low compared to other materials such as steel or cast iron. In contrast, thermal load capacity is very high and some materials are therefore particularly suited to high-temperature applications. In addition, technical ceramics are convincing because of their appearance and haptic. Decorative designer light switches, volume switches of Hi-Fi units or jewelry made of technical ceramics are eye catching when it comes to aesthetic aspects.

Further details about

• materials and
• thermal, electrical, mechanical and aesthetical properties of technical ceramics

Application specification and ceramic material

As materials have different characteristics and features, Sembach offers expert consulting on the use of ceramic materials. The particular requirements imposed on a specific application are of the greatest importance and must be identified and defined precisely. Depending on the application, the ceramic material must comply with a specific performance profile that is based on analyses and allows selection of the ideal ceramic material for particular applications.