What are edge breaks?

Edge breaks refer to the controlled removal or rounding of sharp edges and corners on a component or part. The process involves creating a small, often rounded, chamfer or filet at the intersection of surfaces to eliminate sharp edges. Edge breaks reduce stress concentration points and minimize the risk of cracks or damage to the material or component, ensuring safety, durability, and ease of handling. Edge breaks can enhance the aesthetics of a product and facilitate easier assembly or joining with other parts. 

Recommended edge breaks for advanced ceramic materials are essential in component design. By incorporating these edge breaks, design engineers can harness the superior properties of ceramics while mitigating the challenges associated with their brittle nature. During handling, proper caution and care are imperative to fully leverage the advantages of ceramic materials, ensuring optimal performance in industrial applications.

Factors in Handling

Handling and installing ceramic components can be challenging to the susceptibility of edge chipping. A result of the unique combination of high stiffness and low fracture toughness in ceramics, it emphasizes the critical significance of meticulous edge preparation for the final product. It is possible to harness the exceptional properties of ceramics through careful edge design and preparation, allowing them to excel in a wide range of applications while also enhancing their durability and performance.

Edge Definition

The key to minimizing impact damage lies in enhancing edge definition. By eliminating sharp right-angle edges, the risk of impact damage can be significantly reduced, rendering ceramics more user-friendly. Based on comprehensive studies conducted at our facility, it is recommended to incorporate a minimum 0.020” chamfer on all edges to optimize the durability and resilience of ceramic components.

Dry Pressed Components

Typically formed by compressing dry ceramic powders into the desired shape, the process involves applying pressure to the ceramic powder without the use of a liquid binder. Used for simple shapes and offers advantages like cost-effectiveness and ease of production. The mechanics of dry pressing necessitate a unique chamfer shape to accommodate the press punches.  All OD and ID edges should have a 0.020” minimum chamfer.

Ground Components

Ground components are ceramic parts that have undergone a post-processing step, which is the grinding or machining of their surface, through precise dimensions, smooth surfaces, and specific tolerances. Ground components are often used in applications where high precision is required. Grinding provides an opportunity to blunt edges to eliminate flats and sharp angles. Chamfers of 0.020″ minimum on both OD/ID are recommended.Severe applications may call for radiuses on edges which eliminate sharp edges.