SEARCLE Circular Waste-Based Ceramics for Washout 3D Tooling

Challenge

Hollow composite manufacturing often relies on sacrificial tooling that can be resource- and energy-intensive, while generating materials that are difficult to recover after use.

Solution

SEARCLE combines waste-derived ceramic formulations, binder-jet 3D printing and water-soluble tooling to create sacrificial cores for complex hollow composite parts. After manufacturing, the printed ceramic core can be dissolved in water and part of the recovered material reused in new printing cycles. The approach is designed for high-value applications such as carbon bicycles, aerospace components and other high-performance composite parts. Industrial-scale printing has been validated using CONCR3DE equipment.

Impact

SEARCLE reports that up to 80% of the used soluble mould material can be recycled, using waste-derived inputs including shell waste and alumina. By combining additive manufacturing with circular material recovery, SEARCLE aims to reduce waste, lower the use of virgin resources and make advanced composite manufacturing more circular and resource-efficient.