Processing of advanced electroceramic components by fused deposition technique

Fused Deposition of Ceramics (FDC), a Solid Freefrom Fabrication (SFF) process, has been developed at Rutgers University for rapid prototyping of electromechanical components via hot extrusion of ceramic-loaded polymer filaments. Several FDC filaments including lead zirconate titanate, lead magnesium niobate (PMN), and silver palladium electrode have been developed and used successfully in the fabrication of a wide range of piezoelectric transducers with novel designs. It has been shown that the ability of a filament to work in FDC without failing (buckling) depends on the ratio of filament compressive modulus and viscosity at working temperature. A new fused deposition technique with the capability of depositing up to four different materials has opened new horizons to rapid fabrication of multi-material transducers in a single deposition step. Processing property relations and electromechanical properties of several novel single and multi-material transducers including 2–2 composites, tube arrays, and spiral actuators, processed by FDC techniques will be discussed.