Precision machining
Hard ceramics shaped with equipment and tooling selected for the material rather than borrowed from glass processing, holding dimensional tolerances under .0005 inch on many parts.
ProductsCeramic Components
Precision Ceramic Components.
Ceramic fabrication needs different equipment, different slurries, and different polishing pads than glass. IRD Ceramics runs those processes in a dedicated Alexandria facility rather than treating ceramics as a glass substitute, and reviews the design against the material before quoting, free of charge on a new part.
What we manufacture
Material behavior, tooling, geometry, finish, and inspection method are reviewed together before production.
Lapping and polishing
Flat, smooth, or optical-quality surfaces produced with ceramic-specific slurries and pads, with the same commitment to flatness and scratch-dig that the glass side holds.
Complex components
Custom parts and subassemblies developed for high heat, corrosive chemistry, wear, and electrical requirements, tips, nozzles, washers, seals, and precision geometry.
Production control
Cell-based process ownership carries the part from raw-material order through final inspection, reducing variation between the prototype route and repeat production.
Process capability
Manufacturing limits by process
These are IRD's published capability limits across materials and geometries, not a grade every part ships to. Open the process that controls your critical surface and quote against that one.
Ceramic capability depends on material grade and geometry. Use these ranges to frame a design review, then send the print.
| Attribute | Typical | Best case |
|---|---|---|
| MachiningMounting features, profiles, and custom geometry | ±.005″ dimension | ±.0001″ |
| PolishingOptical faces and performance-critical surfaces | Ra < 1 µin | Ra < 2 Å |
| LappingSeals, spacers, and precision interfaces | ±.000050″ flatness | ±.000010″ |
| GrindingID, OD, surface, and profile grinding | ±.002″ dimension | ±.0002″ flatness |
Specification habits that add cost
IRD has published its own account of what its technical team most often finds when reviewing customer designs in super-hard materials. Each of these is cheap to change on a drawing and expensive to discover in production.
Unnecessary complexity is the most expensive thing on the drawing
Contours, pockets, and threads are simple in metal and costly in a super-hard material, every pocket and blind feature has to be machined, and fine threads are hardest of all. IRD's guidance is to keep basic geometries, allow radiused interior corners, and press in a threaded metal insert rather than cutting threads into the ceramic.
Size the insert hole against both materials' thermal expansion; ceramic will not deform to take up the differenceGrade and orientation are part of the material call
Most super-hard ceramic and sapphire materials come in several grades or crystal orientations that change both cost and manufacturability, and there is little standardization between suppliers. Properties such as tensile and compression strength, hardness, and scratch resistance vary significantly with grain size, porosity, and crystal orientation.
Changing material at prototype stage or later is usually costly
Material cost turns non-linear above 100 mm
IRD reports that for sizes over 100 mm (4 inches), material costs generally begin to rise exponentially. Suppliers who offer standard shapes such as rods and plates are typically far cheaper than custom molded blanks, so the blank format is worth deciding before the geometry is frozen.
Finish is priced by the surface, not by the part
For polished optical surfaces IRD reports 60/40 as the most cost-effective finish, with 20/10 or 10/5 limited to the areas that genuinely need it. For ground surfaces, 32 microinches or greater is the most commonly specified; better finishes are achievable but cost more depending on material and dimension.
Capabilities
Materials, coatings, and metrology
IRD's published materials, coating, and inspection equipment lists.
Materials
- Alumina
- Zirconia
- Silicon carbide
- Silicon nitride
- Macor®
- Mykroy/Mycalex®
Properties
- Wear resistance
- Heat resistance
- Chemical inertness
- Electrical insulation
- Low density versus steel
- Thermal shock resistance
Applications
- Sensor components
- Precision tooling
- Medical probe tips and blades
- Nozzles and valve seats
- Industrial wear parts
- Aerospace hardware
Measured on
- Zygo GPI interferometer
- Zygo NewView
- Zygo Verifire XPZ
- Nikon 6D interferometer
- Micro-Vu automated vision system
- TriOptics Triangle
- TriOptics PrismMaster
- Starrett MVR300
- Zeiss Spectrum
- Zeiss O-Inspect
- Tagarno digital microscope
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
The answers an applications engineer would give you on the first call.
Start a quoteWhen does the material choice have to be settled?
Before prototype, if you can. Changing material at prototype stage or later is usually costly, because the tooling, abrasive sequence, and inspection route are all built around the grade. IRD's Design for Manufacturability review weighs material, features, and specifications against total cost and quality, its published figure is that roughly 80% of the customer-designed super-hard components it manufactures benefited from that review.
How do you handle a ceramic part with a metal insert?
Size the insert hole against both materials' thermal expansion. Ceramic will not deform to take up the difference the way a metal housing does, so the interference has to be right at the temperature the assembly sees, not just at room temperature.
What do you need in order to quote?
IRD's quoting checklist: application, product type, volume potential and schedule, material, dimensions, surface quality, coatings, assembly, cleaning, and packaging. Attach the drawing. For a new design the technical team runs a no-cost Design for Manufacturability review before quoting, then estimates prototype and production volumes separately.
Does IRD design the part?
No. IRD manufactures to your print or performance requirement and contributes material, process, and manufacturability input, the design stays with your team. When a print calls for tighter tolerances than the application requires, IRD will flag the potential over-specification, since it can add unnecessary cost. Final optical design decisions remain yours.
How large a part can you make?
Machining runs to 30″ × 16″ × 16″, polishing to 36″ diameter, grinding to 24″ diameter at 6″ height, lapping to 13.3″ diameter, waterjet to 40″ × 24″ × 2″, and dicing to 8″ diameter at .300″ thick. Larger geometry is quoted against whichever process controls the critical surface.
Which coatings are applied in-house?
IRD applies basic anti-reflective and metallic coatings in-house for quick turnaround. Other coating requirements are handled through select, vetted coating partners. Name the coating target in the RFQ and the team will confirm the route before quoting.
Can you take ITAR-controlled work?
IRD is registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and controlled programs are manufactured and stored domestically across the Litchfield and Alexandria, Minnesota facilities. Both plants operate under quality systems certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 for ultra-high-precision glass, optical, and ceramic components.
How is the finished part protected in transit?
Packaging is tailored to the part and can include multi-layer foam, custom corrugated packaging, gel packs for sensitive optics, and military-grade cases. Components are supported on edges or non-critical surfaces outside the clear aperture and held against shifting in transit.
Technical documents
Use these IRD references when reviewing precision ceramic components requirements.
White paper
5 Most Common Mistakes in Designing Precision Super Hard Components
Legacy technical paper. Company-profile details may be outdated; use current site pages for IRD facts. IRD's full design guidance for ceramics and sapphire, complexity, surface finish, precision, clearance features, and material specification, with the guidance figures quoted on this page and a worked case study.
PDFMaterial guideAn Introduction to Technical Ceramic Materials
The strengths and weaknesses of the main technical ceramic families and where each one fits, written for engineers choosing between them for the first time.
ArticleMaterial guideAn Overview of Silicon Carbide: Part I
What silicon carbide is, how the crystal structures differ, and why its abrasion resistance, rigidity-to-weight ratio, thermal behavior, and acid resistance drive its use in semiconductor, EV, space, and solar applications.
Article
Start with the print
Send us your precision ceramic components requirement.
Send the drawing with the material grade and orientation if you have specified one, the operating environment, which surfaces carry the tight tolerances, the finish per surface, any clearance or chamfer features, annual volume, and schedule. For a new design, the technical team runs a no-cost Design for Manufacturability review before quoting, then estimates prototype and production volumes separately.
Or call 320.693.7217. If you have not yet chosen a material, bring the application instead of a grade, changing material after prototyping is the expensive path.