Over its history, Ceramatec has built
upon its expertise in concept development,
systems engineering, prototyping, pilot
line processing and manufacturing of a
broad range of advanced materials and devices
in order to meet the needs of customers.
From bench top synthesis of new materials
to pilot scale production of new devices,
Ceramatec can provide statistically proven
processes and products.
Browse the areas of interest in product development cycle that interest you,
or contact us directly about a specific
capability you need.
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| Concept Development |
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Ceramatec's development capabilities
range from concept development; to intellectual
property formation; to advanced materials
research; to system design and engineering;
and through to pilot line manufacturing
and process development.
Ceramatec's partners
include multinational corporations, government
agencies, academic institutions, and
small businesses. Ceramatec's unique
expertise in combination with its partner's
core competencies provides the continuum
of skill necessary to move from invention
to commercial products. Typically Ceramatec
is selected to complement the partner's
strengths and provide research and development
capabilities that the partner does not
possess. For many Ceramatec partners
this has proven to be a faster track
that is more cost effective and has a
higher probability of success than attempting
to develop similar resources in house.
Ceramatec has a firm background
in working to identify novel concepts
to resolve partner's technology or product
challenges.
These
concepts have justified the over $120
million invested in Ceramatec research
projects over the last decade and represent
concurrent efforts by our partners that
are ten times as large.
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| Intellectual Property Formation |
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As Ceramatec and its partners have refined
these concepts to a lead concept, Ceramatec,
in many cases, provides the data necessary
for proof-of-principle of the technology
to warrant further investment. Parallel
to concept development and proof-of-principle,
typically, is an intellectual property
strategy entailing the writing and filing
of domestic and international patents.
In addition, where appropriate, Ceramatec
may employ trade secrets to further protect
the concept.
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| Advanced Materials Research |
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To highlight Ceramatec process capabilities,
consider what might occur during a project:
With a lead concept in hand, Ceramatec
engineers set out to design, build, and
test prototype devices of a quality and
quantity that ultimately will prove the
concept worthy of commercial investment
and scale up.
Fundamentally, Ceramatec
has the ability to do ground-breaking
research on advanced materials as it
has done in the past with NaSICON, CERCANAM,
and other novel materials. With thirty-five
advanced degree scientists in electrochemistry,
materials science, and engineering, Ceramatec
can drive concept development at its
most fundamental research level.
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| System Engineering and Prototyping |
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Because of a true understanding of
the chemistry involved, Ceramatec, Inc.
has the ability to make “nano” or
micro powder formulations at quantities
ranging from bench scale up to large
scale pilot line production. This powder
processing capability ranges from particle
size diameters of 6 nanometers up to
materials with diameters of many microns.
Using
the advanced particle formulations developed,
Ceramatec, Inc. has the capability to
fabricate rigid planar or laminar structures
that can be executed with fine detail
down to nano scale dimensions either
by laser processing or by other methods.
This is all accomplished in a 10,000
square ft. Class 10,000 state-of-the-art
clean room. These “Green” planar
layers are then assembled into three
dimensional structures which may be used
for products such as micro channel reactors.
The “green” structures are
then processed in one of the more than
200 industrial kilns in the facility.
The resulting final products are now
ready for testing.
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| Statistical Testing |
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The development of a unique process
or material requires a complete assurance
that the result obtained is not an anomaly.
At Ceramatec, Inc. this assurance is
obtained by extensive Statistical Testing.
Many of the products being developed
literally undergo thousands of hours
of controlled testing. Results are then
analyzed statistically to insure predictable
results. Additionally, as efforts move
into the prototype and pilot stage of
their lifecycle, Statistical Process
Control is applied to insure a reliable,
robust method of fabrication. The results
of this “SPC” testing are
analyzed on a daily basis to insure that
no process drift exists. At Ceramatec,
Inc., statistics testing is a requisite.
The staff has been trained in “SPC” and “Design
of Experiments” techniques.
Ceramatec,
Inc. has taken many programs from the
concept stage through pilot manufacturing
to a true production stage with smooth
transitions throughout. This was made
possible in the observed timeframes due
to Statistical Testing.
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| Process Scale Up |
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Completing the Research & Development
for a unique process or material is only
the first step in producing a useful
device. After that, there remains the
important task of scaling into something
commercially feasible. Ceramatec has
very unique abilities in this regard
with a technical staff possessing extensive
manufacturing backgrounds. This, combined
with a high degree of interaction within
the engineering and scientific staff,
results in outstanding results in a very
short time.
One of the truly unique capabilities
of Ceramatec is that when issues arise
during the prototype effort, the technical
staff is ready to resolve problems quickly
and efficiently. Ceramatec has taken
many programs from the concept stage
through pilot manufacturing to a true
production stage with minimal problems.
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| Pilot Line Process Development and Manufacturing |
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Overall, developing concepts through
to a manufacturing capability is the
commitment Ceramatec shares with its
partners and has demonstrated many times
over its history.
Ceramatec can produce
pilot line scale quantities of items
for statistical analysis and testing
in quantities to assure acceptable manufacturing
processes. Many Ceramatec projects allow
for thousands of units to be produced
for extensive testing and development
of the processes necessary to manufacture
at a larger scale.
In addition to production,
Ceramatec has extensive long-term testing
capabilities in a variety of high-temperature
and pressure environments. Additionally,
Ceramatec has a dedicated, onsite analytical
group with capabilities including SEM,
x-ray diffraction, particle size analysis,
surface area, EDAX, thermal analysis,
and optical microscopy.
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