Crystalline oxides and carbides for heat, wear and electronics — not the mug on the desk.
Also called: engineering ceramics · alumina / zirconia / SiC / Si3N4
Technical ceramics is one of 32 materials in this atlas, grouped under ceramics: history, structure, measured properties, process routes, uses, safety and market — not a product catalogue.
Scores compare Technical ceramics with the rest of the atlas on strength, heat, fire behaviour, insulation, workability and circularity. They are editorial, not certificates.
Seven chapters follow. Fire and insulation claims name test families (Euroclass, ASTM E84, ISO 5660, KS F) rather than inventing a single safety number.
Deep introduction
Technical ceramics (Al2O3, ZrO2, SiC, Si3N4…) is a family of grades whose density 3.2–6 g/cm³ class, heat band often >2000 °C, and fire letter A1.
Technical ceramics is sold as grades, not as a single substance. Chemistry Al2O3, ZrO2, SiC, Si3N4…, density 3.2–6 g/cm³ class, heat band often >2000 °C.
This atlas treats Technical ceramics as a system: mill route, coatings, tests and the cavity it sits in.
Conductivity note: Al2O3 ~20–30; AlN higher; ZrO2 low. Insulation score 46/100 is relative to 32 entries — metals lose, VIPs and aerogels win.
Fire letter in editorial use: A1. Do not equate A1 with “safe in a blaze” or E with “illegal”. Assemblies decide.
Origin: 20th c. spark plugs / WWII carbides, Germany / US / Japan. The process chapter follows feedstock → conversion → forming → finish → install.
Uses span buildings to defence / safety. Pairings matter: glass.
Producers below are landmarks, not an endorsement ranking. Prices are bands, not live quotes.
Circularity mark 44/100. Ask which scrap, which certificate, which year.
Global · 1920s–
Spark plug insulator is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
Germany · 1920s–
WC-Co insert is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
Global · 1990s–
YSZ TBC is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
Europe · 1970s–
Alumina hip is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
Global · 2010s–
SiC MOSFET is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
China / UK · historic
Kiln furniture is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
Japan · 1980s–
Ceramic knife is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
Japan · 1950s–
MLCC barium titanate is a reference point in the public image of Technical ceramics.
Toggle icons on and off — every bar rescales to the leader of your selection.
Same family or rival physics — pick a duel.
Closest neighbours on the six atlas axes — strength, heat, fire, insulation, workability and circularity.
Aromatic polyamide pulps and filaments — ballistic packs, hot-gas filtration and asbestos replacement.
Overall 62 ✈️High specific strength and chloride-tolerant films — airframes, implants and seawater.
Overall 58 👨🚒DuPont’s meta-aramid — fire-fighter turnout, electrical paper and a char that does not melt-drip like nylon.
Overall 65 🏗️The hydraulic ceramic of cities — cement, water, rock and usually steel, with a fire story better than exposed steel.
Overall 57Frozen silicate liquid — windows, bottles, fibres and a Euroclass A1 skin that still shatters and melts in fire.
Overall 58 🏗️The hydraulic ceramic of cities — cement, water, rock and usually steel, with a fire story better than exposed steel.
Overall 57 🌲Anisotropic cellulose composite grown as trees — carpentry, mass timber and a combustible story that codes still manage.
Overall 57