The objective of the ART-CERAM project is to develop an advanced manufacturing process based on low-pressure injection moulding (LPIM) of zirconia ceramics, combined with moulds produced by 3D printing, for the manufacture of short series of customised ceramic jewellery pieces.
The process will be designed to be fast, cost-effective and flexible, enabling rapid design changes and the use of simple, easy-to-manufacture moulds. It will also include the development of suitable raw materials (feedstocks) and optimisation of the subsequent thermal treatment processes (debinding and sintering).
The technological developments will be driven by a specific use case aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed approach: a new jewellery collection by Solka Joyeria inspired by plant motifs and featuring organic shapes.
LPIM enables the production of complex, near-net-shape ceramic components in short production runs, using injection pressures of approximately 4 bar and, consequently, very low-cost moulds made of plastic or hybrid metal–plastic materials. This significantly reduces both production costs and lead times.
However, current jewellery manufacturing is mainly geared towards long production runs of repetitive components, while mould changes are time-consuming and expensive. In addition, organic shapes cannot readily be produced by conventional machining, and investment casting cannot be applied to ceramic materials. This limits the availability of customised ceramic jewellery at affordable prices.
However, current jewellery manufacturing is mainly geared towards long production runs of repetitive components, while mould changes are time-consuming and expensive. In addition, organic shapes cannot readily be produced by conventional machining, and investment casting cannot be applied to ceramic materials. This limits the availability of customised ceramic jewellery at affordable prices.

Steelceram is a manufacturer of advanced ceramic components focused on small- and medium-sized production batches and will benefit from access to a new market and the creation of a new business line enabled by this technology. Solka Joyeria, a young ceramic jewellery company, will be able to manufacture unique pieces at controlled cost and with short lead times, both of which are essential for its growth.

DIOPMA (University of Barcelona, UB) will be responsible for the formulation of the zirconia feedstocks and for the optimisation of the debinding and sintering processes, while the MAV Cluster will lead project management and communication activities.