CeramTec technical ceramics: ROCAR seal rings, Cyrol rollers, SPK inserts and substrates

How to choose a CeramTec ceramic part

Selection starts with the unit and its operating conditions.

For pumps and compressors CeramTec offers ROCAR mechanical seal rings, for bearings Cyrol rollers, for wire drawing machines rollers and cones, for welding lines silicon nitride tools, for machine tools SPK cutting inserts, and for power electronics substrates and heat sinks.

For seals and pump parts the manufacturer uses aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, silicon carbide and silicon nitride. The grade is chosen by hardness, corrosion resistance and operating temperature.

Seals and pump parts

ROCAR silicon carbide rings serve pumps, compressors and rotating machinery, from cryogenic LNG pumps to hot steam compressors, slurry pumps and dewatering systems. Sintered SiC is rated up to 1,800 °C, and monolithic rings are made up to 1,000 mm in diameter.

For vehicles CeramTec makes face seals for coolant pumps and zirconia insulating rings for brakes.

Cyrol bearing rollers

Cyrol rollers in SL900 silicon nitride meet ASTM F2730/F2730M Class I and come as needle, cylindrical, tapered, spherical and barrel rollers. Finished rollers are sorted by diameter and length for installation.

Silicon nitride is about 40% lighter than steel, non-magnetic and electrically insulating, so Cyrol rollers are used in wind turbines, chemical machinery and electric drives.

Wire drawing and welding

Copper wire drawing starts from 8 mm rod. CeramTec rollers, cones and guides in alumina, zirconia and silicon nitride are also made as solid rings up to 485 mm in diameter, and a wire drawing test center operates in Plochingen.

For welding CeramTec makes pipe welding rollers, projection welding centering pins and MIG/MAG gas nozzles in SL200B/BG silicon nitride.

SPK cutting inserts

SPK inserts are made from aluminum oxide, mixed ceramics, silicon nitride and SiAlON, as well as CBN and SiC whisker-reinforced ceramics. The range covers over 25 ceramic cutting materials.

The inserts are used for turning, hard turning, grooving, milling and boring of iron, hardened steels and HRSA superalloys.

Substrates and heat sinks for electronics

CeramTec substrates are made of Rubalit aluminum oxide with 96% and 99.6% Al2O3, Alunit aluminum nitride, ZTA and silicon nitride. They work with DCB, AMB and SMB copper metallization for power modules.

CeramCool heat sinks in aluminum oxide and aluminum nitride combine the circuit board and the heat sink; metallization is copper up to 300 µm, silver or W/Ni/Au, and cooling performance reaches 1,000 W/cm².

Piezoceramics

CeramTec makes PZT piezoceramics and lead-free BNT-BT piezoceramics. Piezoceramics are produced at three plants, two in the United Kingdom and one in Germany.

They are used in ultrasonic sensors for flow meters and leak detectors and in piezo discs for vehicle parking sensors.

The manufacturer

CeramTec GmbH is a technical ceramics manufacturer headquartered in Plochingen, Germany, founded in 1903. It has around 3,500 employees, 18 production sites in Europe, the USA and Asia, more than 100 ceramic materials and more than 10,000 products.

The company also has a medical business that this page does not cover. Material grade, dimensions and lead time are stated in the quotation for each project.