The three core technical indicators of 3D printing equipment are: printing speed, printing volume, accuracy / resolution. Some companies focus on large-scale 3D printers (such as Bigrap), others focus on high-speed 3D printers (such as Carbon), and some companies focus on high-precision 3D printers.
On November 29, 2018, Canon Japan decided to pursue the third path by creating a new ceramic material capable of producing extremely high-resolution parts.
The substrate is an alumina-based ceramic powder that is sintered with a selective laser melting 3D printer. Unlike other ceramic injection resins cured with SLA (stereolithography) 3D printers, they experience shrinkage of up to 20% during final annealing baking. Canon ceramic parts have a dimensional difference of less than 0.8% after the annealing stage. Dimensional accuracy is critical for interlocking parts and industrial equipment. Canon's goal is ceramic heat and corrosion resistance.
By observing their printed samples, complex geometries are no problem for ceramic materials. Canon plans to apply this technology to the medical field, where compatibility and customization are particularly important factors. Being able to produce small quantities in a more economical way can save the hospital a lot of money.
In fact, Canon has long been involved in the field of 3D printing. In October 2015, Canon released a light curing 3D printer. This device has many advantages, including the highest precision and highest surface finish in the industry, higher printing speed, shorter set-up time, simpler post-processing, and the use of a variety of general-purpose resin materials. Therefore, it is very suitable for rapid product iteration and small batch production.
On December 21, 2016, Canon China held a press conference on “Charm Cube” 3D printers. At the time, Canon launched FDM desktop 3D printers aimed at the education market.
Although Canon has also cut into 3D printing as a 2D printing giant, it has not yet achieved great success in the market, and it is not known whether the ceramic 3D printer introduced this time will bring about a major change.