Binder-free additive manufacturing of ceramics using hydrothermal-assisted jet fusion

Ceramic additive manufacturing (AM) typically uses a high fraction of organic binders to form pre-sintered green parts that require a post de-binding process to remove. The de-binding process inevitably results in severe gas expansion and residual chars, leading to structural defects, accumulated stress, and compromised material properties in the final parts. Here we report a binder-free additive manufacturing process named hydrothermal-assisted jet fusion (HJF) that utilizes a hydrothermal method to create geometrically and compositionally complex ceramics under mild temperatures. The HJF process employs a selectively deposited volatile dissolving ink, high pressure, and mild heat to strategically fuse a ceramic powder bed into complex geometries. Compared to traditional AM methods for ceramics, the HJF process eliminates the need for organic binders in green part fabrication and offers the potential to directly co-print ceramics with other dissimilar materials, such as polymers and metals, enabling the development of novel multi-functional ceramic composites.