Up Close: MIT's Ceramics Manufacturing and Process Integration Laboratory

Extract

In a relatively short period of time ceramics have become the key elements to a variety of new technologies, including integrated circuit substrates, artificial limbs, turbocharger rotors, and, of course, superconductors. By and large, however, they have not met their potential. Though advances in basic research are responsible for the breakthroughs so far, no extensive work has been done to establish the manufacturing paradigms necessary for the production of reliable, reproducible materials.

The new Ceramics Manufacturing and Process Integration Laboratory (CMPIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was conceived to address this need. As a logical extension of the science-based Ceramics Processing Research Laboratory (CPRL), also at MIT, the CMPIL will “test” fundamental ideas as they relate to ceramics manufacturing. The goal is to create a hands-on “research factory,” complete with manufactured product, to make an impact on manufacturing productivity and teach students, staff, and visiting scientists the principles that control ceramics manufacturing systems. Other thrusts include developing innovative processing techniques and collecting operating data that will ultimately be transferred to industry.