As we all know, innovation in design keeps manufacturing current. Another revolution is taking place today in manufacturing, where new materials and methods are replacing conventional materials in the manufacturing process. An example of this is the growth in the application of ceramics throughout industry.  The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT) has demonstrated a way of producing high-performance ceramic inserts for deep drawing, a high-speed method that enables the production of large numbers of parts.  These new inserts last longer than the tool steel materials now in use and promise to be much more cost-effective.

To read about this new development, refer to the link below:

http://www.fraunhofer.de/fhg/EN/press/pi/2006/10/ResearchNews102006Topic3.jsp