The most important group of materials manufactured by FCTI are silicon nitride ceramics. These high-performance ceramics are notably characterized by their high strength, resistance to damage and corrosion.
Particularly in high-temperature and foundry applications, they are highly advantageous due to their extremely high resistance to thermal shocks and to thermal cycling, while their low density, high specific strength and rigidity, as well as the extremely low thermal expansion make them particularly valued materials in aerospace and metrological applications.
FCTI offers standardized silicon nitride quality grades, some of which have already been validated and approved for use in the aerospace industry.
In addition, one can also choose between a series of silicon nitride-based special materials, each with their optimized material properties, in order to meet the special requirements of the most diverse fields of application as closely as possible. This includes, for instance, a “high-purity” silicon nitride, employed in order to minimize contamination in sensitive processes (semiconductor technology, photovoltaics, medical technology), some silicon nitride variants with particularly high electrical or thermal conductivity, as well as a special solution for foundry applications with further improved oxidation and wetting behaviour.
Another focal point in FCTI’s material technology is the manufacture of silicon carbide-based materials. These are particularly appreciated in a range of applications because of
- their extreme hardness, wear,
- corrosion and oxidation resistance,
- as well as for their good thermal conductivity.
FCTI offers a whole range of different silicon carbide materials, starting with the densely sintered variety (”SSiC”), which is particularly popular in high-temperature and heat treatment applications, in the engineering of machinery / plants / chemical apparatus, for conveyor applications and wherever wear protection is required.
The particularly high-temperature stable recrystallized (”RSiC”) and nitride-bonded (”NSiC”) varieties have a clearly defined open porosity and permeability and are therefore particularly suitable for setter plates and batch trays in high temperature and heat treatment applications, while materials based on a SiC matrix with carbon fibre reinforcement (”C/C-SiC”) find their perfect application in high-performance friction bushings, in the emergency brakes for elevators, in specific fields relating to wear protection and tribology or again as heat shields in the aerospace industry.
Furthermore, FCTI offers components manufactured from standardized special materials.
The portfolio includes refractory materials such as titanium carbide, titanium diboride, boron carbide or even tantalum carbide. The last of these for instance allows, when used as a crucible material, the ceramic single crystal growth by sublimation in the semiconductor industry, due to its extremely high melting point and corrosion resistance.
Our range of materials is completed by a whole range of special materials, refractory ceramics and composite materials, for which FCT has already collected manufacturing experience, but for which it has not yet standardized a set of products due to the low demand for such materials.
This includes, for instance, tantalum nitride or completely binder-free tungsten carbide. Upon request, as part of our range of services we also work with custom materials.
Feel free to ask us if you need any special material grade!