| Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) | Zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) | 🟧 Silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) | 🟦 Cerazur (ZrO₂) | 🟪 EvoCera® | Silicon carbide (SiC) | 🟫 ZM-131 (ZrO₂-MgO) | |
| Electrical properties | Excellent electrical insulator | Very high fracture toughness | Extremely resistant to thermal shock | High flexural strength and dimensional stability | Plastic deformable, high strength | Extremely hard, very wear-resistant | Electrically and magnetically neutral |
| Wear resistance | High hardness and wear resistance and chemically resistant | Impact-resistant and durable | Chemically resistant and non-stick | Suitable for highly stressed components | Calculable according to FEM, low scattering | Excellent thermal conductivity | High wear and corrosion resistance and chemically resistant |
| Temperature resistance | Temperature resistant up to 1700 °C | Ideal for components subject to high mechanical loads | Efficient at very high temperatures | Alternative to carbide for precise applications | Ductile, also for safety-relevant applications | Resistant up to over 1400 °C and chemically resistant | High temperature stability, chemically inert |
🟧 A-132 - Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) > 99.7 %
Technical properties
➕ Density: 3.9 g/cm³
➕ Flexural strength: 390 MPa
➕ Compressive strength: 3.900 MPa
➕➕➕ Very high hardness (~2000 HV)
➕➕➕ Very high wear resistance
➕➕➕ Good electrical insulation
➕ Thermal conductivity: approx. 28 W/m-K
➕ Temperature resistant up to 1700 °C
Applications
✅ Electrical insulators
✅ Wear-resistant components
✅ High-temperature applications
✅ Dosing, spray technology, valves, chemical industry
🟦 A-141 - Aluminum oxide > 99.99 %
Technical properties
➕➕➕➕ Similar or better properties than A-132
➕➕➕➕ Very high purity for specialized applications
Applications
✅ Sensitive electronic components
✅ Suitable for precision electronics or high-vacuum applications
✅ High purity for analyzers
🟥 Cerazur® - zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) Y-PSZ
Technical properties
➕➕➕ Very high hardness
➕➕➕➕ Very high flexural strength
➕ Impact resistant
➕ Good wear resistance
➕ Thermally insulating, but sensitive to temperature shocks (avoid > 1000 °C), very tight tolerances
Applications
✅ Positioning pins, locating bushes
✅ Special machine components
✅ Formed parts (rollers, gripper fingers, etc.)
🟩 Z-141 - zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) Y-PSZ
Technical properties
➕➕➕ Higher fracture toughness than aluminum oxide
➕➕➕ Very good impact strength
➕➕➕ High mechanical strength
➕ Thermal insulator
➕ Not suitable for temperature shocks > 1000 °C
Applications
✅ Positioning elements
✅ Guide pins, machine inserts
🟨 Volcera 141 - silicon nitride (Si₃N₄)
Technical properties
➕➕➕ Very good mechanical strength
➕➕➕ Resistant to thermal shock (> 800 °C)
➕➕➕ High chemical resistance
➕ Frequency-neutral
➕ Very good non-stick properties
Applications
✅ Applications at high or changing temperatures
✅ Induction, welding, forming
✅ Splash protection areas, guide rollers, measuring in liquid metal
EvoCera® dispersion ceramic
Technical properties
➕➕➕➕ Maximum flexural strength: 600 MPa
➕➕➕➕ High density: 5.9 g/cm³
➕➕➕➕ High modulus of elasticity: 218 GPa
➕➕➕➕ Low plastic deformation (0.8 %)
➕➕➕➕ High Weibull modulus: 50
➕ Vickers hardness: 1.047 HV0.5
➕ Coefficient of thermal expansion: 11.1 × 10-⁶ K-¹
➕ Thermal conductivity: 3.55 W/m-K
➕ Compressive strength: 3.000 MPa
➕ Poisson's ratio: 0.35
➕ Specific heat capacity at 20 °C: 0.46 J/(g-K)
➕ Specific heat capacity at 170 °C: 0.52 J/(g-K)
➕ Thermal conductivity at 170 °C: 3.48 W/(m-K)
Applications
✅ Clamping technology and gripping technology
Cristallic applications, permanent cyclical load
✅ Safety-critical applications
✅ Components for the chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries, corrosion-resistant
✅ Parts in pump/dosing systems
✅ Electronics production (e.g. sensors)
✅ Applications with high dimensional stability