Catalysts are used in reactors to enable or accelerate the reaction of gases or liquids and therefore have unique needs in order to balance surface area, flow, and heat resistance. Historically, engineers have had to compromise, choosing between structures that mix well, structures that are strong, or structures that can be easily and reliably manufactured. Sinto Advanced Ceramics (formerly Bosch Advanced Ceramics) set out to remove that compromise by turning to a novel technology — 3D printed ceramics from Formlabs.
Since 2016, Sinto Advanced Ceramics has used 3D printing to deliver high-performance ceramic components with complex geometries to the semiconductor, chemical, aerospace, and automotive industries. Formlabs stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers enable cost-efficient, scalable production of select components from prototyping through series production.
A catalytic converter for the chemical industry, printed in Alumina 4N Resin on the Form 4 SLA 3D printer, exemplifies the importance of precise, agile, additive manufacturing technology for Sinto Advanced Ceramics.
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Design Requirements of the Catalytic Converter
The catalytic converter is used in reactors to enable or accelerate the reaction of gases or liquids. It needs to bear mechanical loads at high temperatures, but requires increased surface area compared to conventional catalyst types. The key challenge is therefore at the intersection of material and structure. Better catalyst structures mean faster reactions, higher efficiency, and longer component lifetimes, and can therefore reduce costs and increase sustainability in chemical processing.
When it comes to design, the catalytic converter must have a large surface area, good flow-through properties, and efficient mixing of reactants. Issues with conventional catalyst types include:
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Extruded Honeycomb Structures, which do not provide mixing of reaction media
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Open Foams, which possess a very undefined and unknown surface area
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Fixed Beds (loosely packed forms) are not easily flowable
Periodic open cell structure is critical to the catalytic converter performance as a carrier structure for a catalytically active material in chemical processes. Sinto Advanced Ceramics engineers arrived at a solution with the creation of a diamond structure, consisting of 2 mm thin struts that mimic the atomic bonds in a diamond. Gases or liquids flow through the highly porous structure and, upon contact with the catalyst applied to the surface, these react with each other.
Unlike foamed catalysts or catalysts made from loosely packed forms (fixed beds), the diamond structure is an exactly defined and reproducible geometry, perfect for 3D printing and for achieving consistency from part to part.
Proof of concept catalysts were printed in plastic and then coated, but the material did not deliver the mechanical properties desired — enter Alumina 4N Resin.
Directly Printing Alumina
“In research, proof of concept catalysts were often produced by printing a base structure from plastic and then coating it with Al₂O₃. By directly printing the structures from Al₂O₃, we can create more stable structures and eliminate production steps.”
Malte Hartmann, Development Engineer, Sinto Advanced Ceramics
Alumina 4N Resin enables the direct 3D printing of a 99.99% pure alumina technical ceramic with 98.6% relative density. The material has exceptional performance in extreme environments. It is thermally resistant, hard, abrasion resistant, mechanically strong, and chemically inert.
By eliminating plastic substrates and post-coating steps, Sinto Advanced Ceramics streamlines their process, improves mechanical reliability, and enables true series production of ceramic catalysts.
Parts printed with Alumina 4N Resin have to be washed in Ceramic Wash Solution, dried, and fired. As Alumina was formulated by Formlabs for Form Series 3D printers, the exact shrinkage rate is known, and the material leverages the LFD technology of Form 4 for highly precise printing. Sinto Advanced Ceramics achieves tolerances of less than 200 µm, and the customer requires a tolerance of 0.5% of the nominal dimension – proof of the manufacturing precision.
Dimensions: Diameter 8 cm, height 10.1 cm
Weight: 313 g
Printed on Form 4 in Alumina 4N Resin
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Agile, Economical Production Expansion
For Sinto Advanced Ceramics, choosing additive manufacturing is about more than just design freedom and the ability to produce complex geometries — Form 4 and Alumina 4N Resin are also an economical solution for production.
“At Sinto Advanced Ceramics, we rely on a range of production technologies and choose the optimal solution based on our customers’ needs. Formlabs printers stand out by enabling an agile and scalable expansion of production capacity through the addition of further systems. This was a significant factor in the decision to opt for additive manufacturing and underlines Formlabs' role as a partner for innovative, economical, and scalable manufacturing solutions.”
Nikolai Sauer, General Manager, Sinto Advanced Ceramics
Compared to other manufacturing solutions in the field of powder or liquid ceramics processing, Form 4 is cost-efficient. The ability to scale by adding printers also means fewer upfront costs.
While one printer may be needed to meet prototyping demands, scaling production throughput is as simple as adding more parts to the build platform or run more prints in a day. Manufacturing on the same printer that was used for prototyping means no changes to production method — the product will be manufactured as expected with no changes needed to design or material.
Learn more about Form 4 or request a free sample part to evaluate Alumina 4N Resin for yourself. To discuss your unique requirements, contact sales.
