Functional Materials Manufacturing Inc.

Functional Materials Manufacturing (FMM) specializes in the design and manufacturing of non-metallic components for the automotive, welding, aerospace, electronics, and energy industries. FMM develops and manufactures new classes of structural ceramics with a combination of high fracture toughness, strength and hardness as well as functional electronics ceramics with a wide range of capacitance, conductivity, and thermal properties. Currently, the main activity of the company is the production of a wide range of weld/guide pins for the welding industry, where ceramic-based pins are replacing ceramic-coated metal pins, thus extending the life of the pins and reducing downtime for replacement of worn pins. 

FMM offers:

 

·         Materials and components

·         Systems and services

·         Consulting

 

We bring years of R&D in advanced ceramics and experience in developing and manufacturing ceramic products for a wide range of applications including:

 

·         Ceramic guide pins and components for welding

·         Engine components

·         High thermal conductivity, high electrical resistivity ceramics 

·         Ceramics for armour and ballistic protection of personnel and vehicles

·         Aerospace including aviation spark plugs

The company's newest product is a novel silicon carbide (SiC) material possessing the ability to produce sparking under applied voltage and which does not oxidize at temperatures far exceeding those of a conventional counterpart. Our new semiconductor SiC can provide stable arcing at temperatures over 900°C, without oxidation and change in conductivity/resistivity for very long periods of time, which finds applications in many industries including aerospace/aviation, nuclear, and automotive. Currently, it is being used in aviation spark plugs and oxidation resistance parts in machine manufacturing industries. 

The oxidation-resistant silicon carbide developed and produced by FMM is capable of withstanding temperatures of 1550°C in air without signs of oxidation and without the formation of a thick SiO2 film on the surface of the SiC parts. Unlike conventional SiC, FMM silicon carbide shows a decrease in weight instead of increase on heating to high temperature in air which, thus far, has not been observed in classical SiC ceramics.  

More specifically, our new SiC can be used as a protective coating in new MOX fuel reactors, heating elements in high temperature kilns and furnaces, diesel heater igniters, components in space exploration and possibly spark plugs in hydrogen cars.