Alumina is a type of technical ceramics composed mostly of aluminum and oxygen. This type of advanced ceramics offers numerous advantages and special characteristics that make it suitable in a wide range of specialized industrial applications.
This is why the process of alumina injection molding is very popular and why finding a suitable partner for molding your parts is crucial for the usefulness of your end product. However, it’s also important to know about the properties of alumina and why it might be a good choice for your required part.
What are the most important properties of alumina?
Alumina boasts several very important characteristics that make it one of the most popular and versatile ceramic injection molding materials available today:
Temperature stability
Alumina has an extremely high temperature stability and the ability to withstand atmospheric temperatures of 2900℉ or 1650℃, as well as vacuum temperatures of up to 3000℉ or 2000℃. Parts and components made using alumina retain 50% of their room temperature tensile strength at 1000℃.
Abrasion resistance
Abrasion is the act of wearing down a material through friction, altering its structure and reducing its applicability in required conditions. Alumina features a very high hardness, making it very resistant to abrasion and other types of mechanical wear and tear. This means that parts and components made from alumina will retain their desired properties and shape far longer.
Chemical resistance
Alumina is chemically inert, not reactive, which means it’s highly resistant to different types of chemicals, including alkalis and acids. Alumina will not sustain surface and structural damage from being exposed to salt and solvent solutions at high temperatures, which further extends the durability and longevity of different parts and components.
Density
Material density is its mass divided by its volume and it’s expressed in g/cm3, or grams per cubic centimeter, meaning that the material density and volume are inversely proportional. Alumina consists of fine particles without voids present in the material, and the fewer the voids, the higher density and volume.
The density of alumina is different at different temperatures, with the standard density being 3.965 g/cm3 at the temperature of 25℃.
Mechanical properties
Mechanical properties of materials involve their strength, which refers to the amount of strain and stress a material can withstand before breaking. Alumina has very high strength which only further improves with the higher level of purity.
Dielectric and thermal properties
Alumina is very suitable for insulative use due to its capability to prevent the passing of electrical current through it. Also, it’s very resistant to thermal shocks, which is also one of the characteristics of this technical ceramics that further increases with its level of purity.
Hardness
Finally, hardness refers to a material’s capability to withstand mechanical abrasion and wear. In this aspect, alumina is harder than tungsten carbide and steel tools. It boasts the hardness of HRA80-90, which is only surpassed by diamonds.
Which company offers industry-leading alumina injection molding services?
Alumina is one of the most popular technical ceramic materials used in injection molding precisely for its wide range of favorable properties. And, depending on the exact type of alumina you choose to use for your part or component, you can further fine tune its characteristics. From there, you can find more information about the process of alumina molding to know exactly which parts and components you can expect to create.
However, there’s one final piece of the puzzle and that’s finding the right ceramic injection molding company to outsource your part production to. Wunder Mold is one such company. We combine advanced machines and equipment and the best alumina materials available to create a part that suits your requirements in terms of design and properties. Send an email to sales@wundermold.com or give us a call today!