In this interview, AZoM explores how the partnership between Syalons, Lithoz, and MTC drives innovation in ceramic 3D printing, enhancing capabilities in sialon ceramics and additive manufacturing.
How did the partnership between Syalons, Lithoz, and MTC come together?
The partnership between Manufacturing Technology Centre (UK), a leading research and technology organization (RTO) at the forefront of manufacturing innovation, International Syalons (UK), manufacturer of advanced technical ceramics, primarily silicon nitride and sialon and Lithoz (Austria), a 3D printer OEM, is a strong example of how collaboration across the additive manufacturing value chain can drive innovation in ceramic 3D printing.
Here’s how the collaboration came together: Syalons had collaborated with Lithoz on post-processing silicon nitride ceramics for a few years, gaining deep experience in ceramic 3D printing.
Lithoz's engineering team had already commercialized multiple resin compositions and part designs with support from Syalons, laying the groundwork for a formal partnership. With the arrival of one of Lithoz's CeraFab systems at MTC in 2024 and Lithoz becoming a member of MTC, they became united by a passion for progress across the world of ceramic AM and relevant technologies.
Within the current trilateral partnership: (a) Lithoz brings in its expertise in ceramic-filled printable materials, (b) MTC contributes through its new in-house printing capability, process expertise and required DFAM support (c) Syalons supplies post-thermal processing of the printed sialon parts using its own knowledge and expertise.
Image Credit: International Syalons
What makes silicon nitride a challenge—and an opportunity—for 3D printing?
Silicon nitride (Si3N4) excels in harsh working environments, offering some of the most attractive thermomechanical properties among oxide and non-oxide ceramics. This material presents challenges and opportunities in the context of 3D printing, especially for high-performance applications.
The key challenge would be the high temperature range required for its sintering, which demands specialized furnaces and precise thermal control, making post-processing more complex and energy-intensive.
Shrinkage level during sintering is on the list of challenges here. Significant shrinkage (up to 20–30%) can occur during densification, which requires careful compensation in the design and printing stages to maintain dimensional accuracy.
3D printing offers opportunities for complex geometries that are difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional ceramic forming methods. AM also enables lightweight, high-performance components tailored to specific applications.
What benefits and limitations have you seen with the Lithoz printer so far?
Lithoz ceramic 3D printers, especially those using LCM (Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing) technology, offer a compelling mix of benefits, including:
- Ultra-high precision: Lithoz printers can produce parts with exceptional detail and repeatability, ideal for aerospace, medical, and electronics applications
- Material versatility: Lithoz supports the manufacturing of high-performance ceramics such as silicon nitride, alumina, and zirconia, which are known for their strength, thermal shock resistance, and chemical stability
- Multi-material printing: Lithoz's CeraFab Multi 2M30 allows the combination of ceramics with metals or polymers in a single print job, enabling multi-functional components.
- Design freedom: The use of Lithoz systems enables complex geometries such as graded porosity, miniaturized RF filters, and cooling channels in turbine blades, which are features that are difficult or impossible with traditional methods.
- Scalability: Lithoz has scaled its technology to support serial production, making it viable for industrial manufacturing rather than just prototyping.
Although Ceramic AM offers exciting possibilities, especially for high-performance applications in aerospace, medical, and electronics, it also has several technical and practical limitations, such as a complex and elongated post-processing stage, high-temperature sintering requirements, the brittle nature of the green parts, and limitations in materials options.
LCM 3D-printed ceramic silicon nitride components. Image Credit: Lithoz
How are Syalons and MTC coordinating design, printing, and sintering?
MTC contributes through its new in-house printing capability and required DFAM support, with Syalons supplying post-thermal processing of the printed nitride parts. Syalons has the knowledge and capability to produce fully dense, defect-free sialon ceramics via pressureless and high-pressure sintering, a cheaper and easier process than hot-pressing or reaction bonding of silicon nitride.
Syalons was the first company to patent and develop sialon ceramics for industrial markets and has a wealth of manufacturing experience in both additive and conventional production methods, including iso-pressing, green machining, and slip casting.
How could this project help localize ceramic part production in the UK?
Syalons and MTC are actively committed to innovation in the UK’s advanced ceramic industry. Localizing ceramic part production through a project involving a 3D-printer OEM, a research technology organization, and a ceramic sintering company could bring several strategic benefits and address key limitations in the current supply chain. This can happen via:
- Supply chain resilience to reduce dependence on overseas suppliers for critical ceramic components
- Faster turnaround times; local production can enable quicker prototyping, iteration, and delivery
- Cost efficiency to cut down on import duties, shipping costs, and long lead times
- Innovation ecosystem to encourage collaboration between UK-based research institutions, manufacturers, and startups
- Sustainability, supporting a reduction in carbon footprint by minimizing transportation and enabling energy-efficient production
- To support workforce development by creating high-skilled jobs in AM, materials science, and advanced engineering.
What kind of results or feedback have you seen from initial prints?
Initial results and feedback from prints using the Lithoz ceramic 3D printer have been largely positive. The prints show exceptional repeatability, and the printed parts exhibit properties matching the performance of conventionally manufactured ceramics. The Lithoz system, alongside its commercial slurries, has been used to successfully print parts with complex shapes such as graded porosity and internal channels, enabling new functionalities.
How are you marketing these new capabilities to industry partners?
The marketing strategy here involves a multi-pronged plan highlighting technical value, business impact, and collaborative potential. This will include sharing case studies and benchmark results comparing printed parts to traditionally manufactured ones and highlighting real-world use cases; offering joint development projects to co-create parts with potential partners as well as providing access to design support, material testing, and sintering services to lower entry barriers; attending relevant trade shows and conferences to present latest outcomes for sparking conversations about ceramic AM specifically in the field of nitrides and finally by getting involved in; collaborative research & development (CR&D) calls with other UK universities and research centers to develop the relevant processes and expand their credibility.
About Ben Melrose
Ben Melrose is Technical Director at International Syalons (Newcastle) Ltd, having joined the company in 2012 as a Development Engineer and was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2019. After studying Engineering of Materials (MRes) at University of Birmingham Ben has focussed much of his attention working to develop new sialon-based advanced ceramic materials and ceramic fabrication techniques alongside customers and research partners, and is now responsible for all aspects of R&D and quality assurance at International Syalons.
About Dr. Sherry Ghanizadeh 
Dr. Sherry Ghanizadeh is a ceramics specialist with a PhD in Synthesis and Processing of Nanostructured Ceramics from Loughborough University. She has authored multiple research papers and contributed to advanced materials projects, including transparent alumina ceramics, nano polycrystalline diamond, and sustainable conducting oxide inks.
Sherry joined Lucideon Ltd. in 2018 as a Technical Consultant, delivering solutions in ceramic processing for applications such as solid-state batteries, hybrid sintering, and EV technologies. Since 2022, she has been Technology Lead in Ceramic Additive Manufacturing at the MTC’s National Centre for Additive Manufacturing, driving innovation in ceramics for energy, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by International Syalons.
For more information on this source, please visit International Syalons.
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