In the advanced ceramics industry chain, people often focus more on the material itself, such as alumina, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, electrostatic chucks, and other core components. However, as semiconductor equipment, optical devices, AI liquid cooling systems, and other fields demand ever-higher precision, "processing equipment" is becoming a key factor in determining yield and cost.
Challenges in advanced ceramic processing
Advanced ceramic materials generally feature high hardness and high brittleness. Components like electrostatic chucks, ceramic suction chucks, and precision structural parts used in the semiconductor industry often require machining hundreds or even thousands of micro-holes. If just one hole exhibits edge chipping, cracking, or dimensional deviation, the entire workpiece may be scrapped. Therefore, the stability, repeatability, and tool life of processing equipment directly impact manufacturing costs.
This is why ultrasonic machining technology has gained increasing attention in the advanced ceramics field. Compared with conventional processing, the advantages of ultrasonic machining are mainly in drilling and material removal of hard and brittle materials. For example, when drilling alumina ceramics without ultrasonic assistance, ordinary tools may wear out rapidly after just dozens of holes. With ultrasonic assistance, the same tool life can be extended to over 200–300 holes. At the same time, ultrasonic machining reduces the risk of chipping, improves hole wall quality, and increases overall yield. In many high-end applications, customers are willing to sacrifice some processing efficiency in exchange for better product integrity.
Machine tool hardware must also meet standards
To truly achieve high-quality advanced ceramic processing, ultrasonic technology alone is not enough. Machining hard and brittle materials imposes extremely high demands on the machine tool's inherent accuracy. Langen Precision currently employs a granite bed structure to reduce the effects of thermal deformation and material stress. Compared with traditional cast-iron beds, granite structures better maintain long-term equipment precision. Langen aims to control positioning repeatability within 1 micron, including guideway straightness, flatness, and perpendicularity.
To achieve this stability, Langen Precision has built an advanced constant-temperature, constant-humidity precision assembly workshop. In addition to high-grade guideways, imported spindles, and imported CNC systems, many processes still rely on human expertise. For example, "manual scraping" in machine assembly remains a critical step in high-end machine tools. The scraped layer thickness is even thinner than a human hair, and manual反复 (repeated) finishing of mating surfaces achieves higher contact accuracy and structural stability. This type of process is difficult to fully replace with machines in the short term, and it often takes more than six months to train a skilled worker.