Machining / Grinding Boron Nitride Ceramics

CiDRA® Precision Services, LLC has years of experience manufacturing micron level tolerance products from Boron Nitride Ceramic. We leverage our in-depth dicing, drilling, milling, grinding, and polishing capability to manufacture the highest quality Boron Nitride products.

Whether you need prototypes or volume production, CiDRA® Precision Services, LLC is here to help. Please contact us to discuss your applications.

About Boron Nitride

Boron Nitride (BN) is a white, low porosity refractory material with physical and mechanical properties similar to carbon. It is produced in a hot pressed form and the resulting material properties are anisotropic relative to the press direction. In fact, the material properties can vary considerably depending on the direction or the grade of the material. It is easily machined into complex shapes using standard carbide tooling. The most common formulation of Boron Nitride contains boric oxide and can be used as a lubricant. However, unlike Graphite, it has high thermal conductivity and good thermal shock performance. The boric oxide can cause Boron Nitride to absorb moisture resulting in swelling and property degradation. The operation temperatures range from 850°C for oxidizing environments to 2800°C for inert environments. Depending on how it is processed, the hardness of Boron Nitride varies considerably, from a soft machinable material (Mohs hardness of ~2) to Cubic Boron Nitride (Mohs hardness of ~9.5), which is second only to diamond in hardness.

Boron Nitride Applications

  • Low friction seals
  • Microwave tubes
  • Plasma arc insulators
  • Microcircuit packages

Boron Nitride Properties

 

Units

Boron Nitride
(BO grade) Parallel to Press Direction 

Boron Nitride (BO grade) Perpendicular to Press Direction 
Max Use Temperature
(No Load)		 C 1500 1500
Thermal Shock (Quenching) C 200 -250 200 -250
Thermal Conductivity W/(m K) 20 - 30 27 - 33
Specific Heat  J/(K kg) 1610
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion 1/C (x10e-6) 11.9 3.1
Color White White
Moh Hardness 2 -3 2 -3
Vickers Hardness kg/mm^2 12.0 10.9
Knoop Hardness kg/mm^2 11.0 - 24.0 11.0 - 24.0
Density g/cm^3 1.9 1.9
Porosity % of nominal 2.8 - 22 2.8 - 22
Compressive Strength Mpa 143 186
Tensile Strength Mpa
Flexural Strength MPa 76 113
Fracture Toughness MPa m^1/2
Young's Modulus GPa 47 74
Poisson's ratio 0.05 - 0.16 0.05 - 0.16
Dielectric Strength kv/cm 95 79
Dielectric Constant (@1MHz) 4.6 4.2
Dielectric Loss Tangent 0.0002 - 0.0004 0.0002 - 0.0004
Resistivity ohm cm >10^14 >10^15
 
The information provided in this table is for room temperature only, and is a compilation of publicly available data.  This information is provided for comparison purposes only, and is not intended to be warrantable.   Further, CiDRA® Precision Services, LLC disclaims any and all liability from errors, inaccuracies, or omissions.

 

Please contact us if you would like to discuss your Boron Nitride dicing, drilling, milling, grinding, polishing or any other machining applications.