Frequently Asked Questions - Custom Ceramics

What is Ceramic Injection Molding?

Ceramic Injection Molding is a form of Powder Metallurgy (PM) where the powder used is a ceramic material, which in most cases is a metal oxide.  Therefore the process can be considered PIM (Powder Injection Molding) but more specifically it is called CIM because the powder used is a Ceramic.  Virtually every ceramic manufacturing process uses some kind of binder system and in the case of CIM the binder is a medium for the powder to flow in, so that mold cavities can be filled to make the ceramic green body.  When the green body is fired at high temperature, the powder sinters (densification process) to make a fully-fired ceramic material.

What is Ceramco's privacy policy?
Our customers can submit a print or drawing and be confident that it is kept private. We do not provide information about your parts to other customers or other public entities. We do not disclose your tolerancing or other design details to others. When you buy a tool, it is strictly used to make your parts only for your company. The tool is kept at Ceramco, only to be used by Ceramco when you re-order parts.

Do you have parts available that are similar to what I need?
Ceramco is a contract manufacturer and therefore most of what we make is custom made, as opposed to having mostly off-the-shelf or standard type items for sale.  Every custom ceramic part we manufacture is made to a print/drawing/design that belongs exclusively to the customer. 

How soon can I have my part made?
As soon as we receive a purchase order, your order is processed.  There are many steps in the ceramic manufacturing process. If tooling is needed then the tool must be made before the ceramic parts can be formed.  Formed parts must then go through thermal treatments.  All parts are thoroughly inspected in our Quality Assurance department.  Perhaps your product needs grinding operations and then needs to be cleaned and inspected.  All of these steps take time, and your product requirements are what ultimately determine the lead time.  Please consult our lead time chart for an estimate.