Ceramics with crystallographic alignment, or texture, typically do not have complex geometries due to limitations in forming methods to align template particles. Here, digital light projection stereolithography, an additive manufacturing technique, is employed to create textured alumina parts. Three photocurable polymer-ceramic slurries were created with viscosities less than 2 Pa-s, and one formulation was used to create samples for microstructure analysis. Stage speed during the spreading of 4, 50 µm layers for each part was varied from 2 mm/s to 4mm/s, and sintering temperature was varied from 1400°C to 1550°C. Samples exhibited a maximum linear shrinkage of ~20%, maximum theoretical density of ~78%, and maximum texture fraction of 24.34%. Slurry formulation considerations, printing process variables and sintering mechanisms are discussed in detail to be able to create textured ceramics with complex geometries to exhibit improved properties compared to their un-textured counterparts.
