Silicon Nitride Balls Market is predicted to reach USD 0.568619636 billion at a CAGR of 5.54% during the forecast period

Pune, India, Oct 2022, MRFR Press Release/Market Research Future has published a Cooked Research Report on the Global Silicon Nitride Balls Market.

Silicon Nitride Balls market

Silicon nitride balls, commonly known as the silicon nitride ceramic balls, are largely utilised in bearing. The raw materials used to create silicon nitride balls include silicon nitride fine powder and sintering aids such as aluminium oxide and yttrium oxide. Solvent and binders are added to the raw materials and heated in a dewaxing furnace followed by hot isostatic pressure procedure. A diamond wheel is used to grind the silicon nitride ball into appropriate dimension. Bearings utilise these balls to allow for relative motion between two parts while also supporting loads from the component to keep it in place.

It offers strong resistance to thermal shock, and has decreased density and low thermal expansion. Also, it demonstrates continuous strength during temperature operation upto 1,000 degree Celcius. These properties provide several advantages for ball bearing material, including increased running speed, reduced shaft vibration, improved lifetime and maintenance costs, lower heat generated, lower energy consumption, lower wear rate, lower noise level, and reduced lubricant usage. Silicon nitride balls are utilised for high temperature and for high running speed applications in machine tool spindles, dental drills, motor racing, aircraft, high speed air turbine bearing, and in biotechnology industry. Superior features of silicon nitride balls largely fuel the market expansion.

Market Synopsis

According to the MRFR analysis, the global Silicon Nitride Balls market size is projected to reach USD 0.568619636 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 5.54%.

Silicon nitride valve balls fulfil performance standards necessary for the oil exploration and recovery sectors. It is lightweight, chemically inert, and has great strength with exceptional resistance to abrasion and corrosion. Its excellent thermal shock resistance and low coefficient of thermal expansion assist withstand the harsh temperatures of deep-water activities. Thus, the increase in oil & gas exploration activities enhance the market growth throughout the predicted period. The high cost of silicon nitride ball as compared to steel ball bearings is the key restriction to the market expansion. Increase in use of silicon nitride ball across various end use industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical, chemical, and others is predicted to provide new possibilities for the market participants

Competitive Landscape

The rising demand from the automotive and aerospace industries is expected to propel the worldwide silicon nitride ball market forward over the forecast period. The worldwide silicon nitride balls market is being pushed forward by the increasing demand for silicon nitride ceramics used in the manufacturing of efficient and dependable power electronic products for electric and electric vehicles.

CoorsTek Inc. (US), Enduro Bearings (US), Kyocera Corporation (Japan), Ortech Advanced Ceramics (US), Salem Specialty Ball, Inc. (US), Sinoma (China), SKF (Sweden), Toshiba Materials Co., Ltd (Japan), Tsubaki Nakashima Co. Ltd (Japan), ZYS International Co., Ltd (China), Fineway Inc. (Canada), and Metalball (France) are the key players operating in the global silicon nitride balls market.

SKF, Tsubaki Nakashima Co. Ltd, Toshiba Materials Co., Ltd, Kyocera Corporation, and CoorsTek Inc. hold the largest share of the global silicon nitride balls market due to their strong industry experience, global revenue bases, wide product portfolios, and strong distribution networks.

Segmentation

By Type

• <0.5" Ball: Silicon nitride is non-porous, non-magnetic, non-corrosive, lighter than steel and, in ball form, is harder than steel. They are virtually frictionless and are capable of spinning faster than steel balls. Silicon nitride materials are available in various sizes. Silicon nitride balls of 0.5 mm or less than 0.5 mm are suitable for applications where high loads, high speeds, and extreme temperatures are factors.


• 5”- <1.0” Ball: Silicon nitride ball size range from 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm in diameter and offer long life and minimal lubrication in various automotive components, which make this material ideal for several applications. Silicon nitride balls are lightweight material weighing 60% less than steel, which reduces centrifugal force and provides high-temperature hardness. Henceforth, increasing demand for 0.5-<1.0’’ ball in the automotive industry is expected to offer an optimistic opportunity for market growth over the forecast period.


• 0" - 1.5" Ball: The increasing demand for 1mm – 1.5mm silicon nitride ball in machine tool application due to its excellent characteristics such as low coefficient, low fiction, thermal expansion, resistance to chemicals, and low cooling cost are expected to fuel the global market growth over the forecast period. Also, silicon nitride balls diameter ranges from 1.0’’ mm - 1.5" mm are commonly used in various industries such as aerospace, military and defense, energy, hybrid bearings, and full ceramics bearings.


• <1.5” Ball: <1.5" silicon nitride ball has a melting temperature of 2,552°F. This product provides consistent concentricity and smoothness at very high temperatures. It is 79% lighter and stronger than tungsten carbide. <1.5" silicon nitride balls are used in automotive bearings, wind turbines, industrial bearings, rollerblades, bicycles, and skateboards. In addition to this, they are used in special bearings, high-speed bearings, under vacuum pumps, compressors, centrifugal pumps, shafts/mandril, recirculating balls, flow meters, and measurement instruments.

By Application

• Aerospace & Defense: The growth in segment can be attributed to the increasing aircraft production due to growth in tourism coupled with high consumer spending. Silicon nitride balls are used in various aerospace applications such as flight control components, gas turbine engines, main landing gear wheels, precision motion control components, and wings flaps & slats ball screw actuators. Silicon nitride balls outperformed all traditional steel bearing balls due to their excellent material properties and are used as an alternative to steel balls, where electrical insulation is a necessity.


• Automotive: Silicon nitride balls are the most widely used in electric motors. When an electric current passes through the inside of a rotating bearing on an electric vehicle motor, the contact surface gets damaged, and arcing may occur. To overcome this problem, silicon nitride balls are used in bearings due to their excellent insulative properties. The rising production and sales of automobiles, coupled with the stringent environmental regulations for vehicular emissions, are projected to boost the demand for silicon nitride balls in the automotive industry during the forecast period.


• Machine Tools: A prime driver driving the growth of silicon nitride balls in machine tools was the replacement of metals with ceramics in advanced turbine and reciprocating engines to give higher operating temperatures and efficiencies. Silicon nitride can resist at high temperature as compared to most metals, which has been used in a number of industrial applications, such as engine components, bearings and cutting tools.


• Energy: Silicon nitride balls are high in demand in the wind industry. The majority of wind turbines used for renewable energy production employ silicon nitride ball bearings. The wind turbine operators must ensure that their assets remain operational for as long as possible. Silicon nitride ball bearings offer durability and load-carrying capacity, which provide a cost-effective solution to meet these demands.


• Others:The others segment includes power and chemicals applications.

By Region

• North America: The United States and Canada now make up separate markets in North America. The US was the global leader in the aerospace industry and generated a sales revenue of USD 712 billion in 2021, supporting approximately 2.2 thousand jobs. The substantial growth in the aerospace industry and increasing demand for lightweight & fuel-efficient military aircraft and counterterrorism applications is the major factor that is anticipated to boost the growth of the North America market over the forecast period.


• Europe: The European market has been segmented into Germany, Russia, Italy, France, the UK, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Rest of Europe. Europe is among the world's largest producers of motor vehicles, and silicon nitride balls are widely used in electric motors due to their high electrical resistivity. The automotive sector is supporting approximately 13.8 thousand jobs to Europeans, which represents around 6.1% of total European employment. Henceforth, the growing automotive industry in Europe is expected to propel the market demand during the foreseeable period.


• Asia-Pacific: Rapid industrialization in the region along with increased expenditure on defence modernization has spearheaded the growth of the industry in the Asia Pacific region. Besides, China continues to dominated the market in 2021, and is closely followed by India interms of Defence spending. Moreover, China continues to remain the largest producer of automobiles and is further poised to account for a larger market share during the forecast period.


• Latin America: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and the rest of Latin America are the subsets that make up the Latin American market. The market is expected to expand at a respectable CAGR from 2022 to 2030 on the back of rising demand from the construction and automotive & transportation sectors, as well as from rapidly developing nations.


• Middle East & Africa: Due to the slow regional development caused by the prevalence of small economies, the Middle East and Africa are demonstrating stagnant growth during the evaluation period. Still, the expansion of the building sector in GCC countries is expected to present promising prospects for the regional expansion of the market.