Proceedings of the XMO Industrial Seminar 2026: Excellence in Manufacturing and Operations
Keywords
MMAM, laser-based ceramic processing, optical fiber
Tracks
TESTING AND VALIDATION STRATEGIES
DOI
10.5703/1288284318669
Abstract
Polymer–ceramic multi-material additive manufacturing (MMAM) offers opportunities to combine the complementary properties of polymers and ceramics within a single structure. However, integration of these materials remains challenging because ceramic processing temperatures greatly exceed those tolerated by most polymers, creating the risk of melting or thermal degradation during adjacent ceramic processing. This challenge is particularly important when laser-based ceramic processing is performed in proximity to polymer additive manufacturing processes, including applications involving ceramic powder bed fusion. Understanding transient heat transfer from laser-heated ceramic regions to neighbouring polymer structures is therefore important for the development of practical polymer–ceramic MMAM approaches. Previous thermal modelling studies have suggested that introducing a controlled physical gap between ceramic and polymer regions may reduce heat transfer during laser-based ceramic fabrication. Experimental measurements are needed to assess thermal behaviour under realistic processing conditions and to support future model validation efforts. This work presents an experimental framework for investigating thermal response in gap-controlled polymer–ceramic configurations subjected to localized laser heating representative of ceramic fusion processes. A custom alumina–polymer fixture with controlled gap geometries and embedded optical fiber sensing was developed to measure internal spatiotemporal temperature distributions within the polymer during single-track laser exposure. Preliminary results obtained for HDPE demonstrate the ability of the approach to capture localized transient heating and internal thermal evolution within the polymer. The experimental framework establishes a basis for future investigations of gap-dependent thermal behaviour, thermal management strategies, and experimental validation of thermal models for polymer–ceramic MMAM systems.
Experimental Investigation of Thermal States in Polymer–Ceramic Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing
Polymer–ceramic multi-material additive manufacturing (MMAM) offers opportunities to combine the complementary properties of polymers and ceramics within a single structure. However, integration of these materials remains challenging because ceramic processing temperatures greatly exceed those tolerated by most polymers, creating the risk of melting or thermal degradation during adjacent ceramic processing. This challenge is particularly important when laser-based ceramic processing is performed in proximity to polymer additive manufacturing processes, including applications involving ceramic powder bed fusion. Understanding transient heat transfer from laser-heated ceramic regions to neighbouring polymer structures is therefore important for the development of practical polymer–ceramic MMAM approaches. Previous thermal modelling studies have suggested that introducing a controlled physical gap between ceramic and polymer regions may reduce heat transfer during laser-based ceramic fabrication. Experimental measurements are needed to assess thermal behaviour under realistic processing conditions and to support future model validation efforts. This work presents an experimental framework for investigating thermal response in gap-controlled polymer–ceramic configurations subjected to localized laser heating representative of ceramic fusion processes. A custom alumina–polymer fixture with controlled gap geometries and embedded optical fiber sensing was developed to measure internal spatiotemporal temperature distributions within the polymer during single-track laser exposure. Preliminary results obtained for HDPE demonstrate the ability of the approach to capture localized transient heating and internal thermal evolution within the polymer. The experimental framework establishes a basis for future investigations of gap-dependent thermal behaviour, thermal management strategies, and experimental validation of thermal models for polymer–ceramic MMAM systems.