Editor's Note
This editor’s note highlights the key facts and market implications behind “Combining Ceramics and Metals in a Single Resin-“, with emphasis on sourcing, product fit, fabrication, logistics, or buyer impact.
Since Monday, the city of Hanover in Germany has been hosting the annual Hannover Messe, an event dedicated to manufacturing industry and digital transformation. From robotics to artificial intelligence, the focus is on automation, technology, and digitalization. Among the exhibitors and visitors, there are, of course, several players from the additive manufacturing sector.
We are discussing this today because one initiative particularly caught our attention: a project led by researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Named CeraMMAM (for Ceramic Multi Material Additive Manufacturing), it implements a universal binder system for a resin technology to print multiple materials in a single vat. The goal? To be able to combine ceramics with metals, or even ceramics of different natures.
This would allow for the precise fusion of mechanical, electrical, or thermal properties.
The researchers' approach is based on photopolymerization: a photosensitive resin is exposed to light of a specific wavelength, causing it to harden locally. The difference is that this resin contains ceramic or metal particles, as well as a binder that allows the different materials to be joined together. Debinding and sintering steps will then be necessary to obtain the final parts.
According to the team, this universal binder is a mixture of liquid polymers, functional additives, and a photoinitiator. No further details are known—but this is where the entire innovative nature of this CeraMMAM process lies. This material preparation work is therefore crucial. We only know that the researchers have a Lithoz 3D printer. Chantal-Liv Lehmann from KIT continues:
Thanks to our universal binder system, we can manufacture multi-material components with innovative and sometimes contradictory properties. This opens the door to entirely new designs and functionalities that were previously impossible to achieve. For example, we can produce components such as ceramic gears with a soft interior and an exceptionally hard surface.
Materials and Applications of the CeraMMAM Process
So far, the team has successfully tested a ceramic-ceramic combination based on aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide, as well as mixtures of alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ) and zirconia-toughened alumina.
The team explains that this process could find particular utility in the aerospace, medical, or mechanical engineering sectors. For example, it could be used to manufacture custom bone and dental implants, or wear- and heat-resistant components with very finely adjusted sintering and porosity zones.
Source: Read the original article | Published: April 23, 2026