Advanced manufacturing methods for ceramic and bioinspired ceramic composites: A review

Ceramics and ceramic composites are often utilised for armour applications, where light weight and ballistic protection are essential. Recently, bio-inspired materials and composites for future armour applications are attracting increasing attention from researchers and engineers. In order to choose the suitable methods and techniques to fabricate ceramic and bioinspired ceramic composite armours cost-effectively, it is necessary to understand current techniques for manufacturing ceramic and ceramic composite products. In this paper, we provide a state-of-the-art review of advanced/potential manufacturing techniques available to fabricate ceramic and bioinspired ceramic composites. These methods encompass powder-based techniques (e.g., Selective Laser Melting/Sintering, Binder Jetting) used for prototyping porous ceramic structures, as well as vat polymerisation (e.g., Stereolithography, Digital Light Processing) and Slurry-Based Deposition (e.g., Direct Ink Writing, Fused Deposition Modelling), which are employed for fabricating dense ceramic parts.