Ceramic Ball Market Analysis

Global Ceramic Ball Market Overview

Increasing demand for lightweight components in end-use industries is likely to fuel the demand for ceramic balls and is expected to augment the market at a healthy CAGR of ~ 7.1 % during the forecast period of 2022 to 2030.

Ceramic balls are rolling components that are spherical in shape and offer low thermal expansion, higher stiffness, and lightweight properties with better electrical and corrosion resistance as compared to steel balls. These balls are generally manufactured by pressing a binder mixture of ceramic powder in a preformed shape. The product is widely used due to its excellent stiffness, corrosion resistance, electrical resistance, and minimal shrinkage properties across various end-use industries. Some of the major end-use industries where it finds applications are aerospace, automotive, and conveyors, among others. In the market, ceramic ball is popular by the trade names: Denstone, CERBEC, DEV, and others.

The major factors favoring the growth of the market are surging demand for high corrosion resistant products owing to its advantages over steel or plastic balls; growing adoption, especially the aerospace and automotive industries; and increasing application in machinery. By 2019, around 100 million units of vehicles are expected to be manufactured, which is likely to boost the demand for ceramic balls due to its application in seating tracks, seatbelt locking mechanisms, constant velocity (CV) joints, tripod joints, seat slides, and spindle bearings, among other systems, in the coming years.

Globally, the application for ceramic balls is increasing in the aerospace industry due to its high strength and lightweight properties. Ceramic balls pose high stiffness, low friction, and excellent acceleration capability in high loads and high speed, which make ceramic balls the major substitute for conventional steel balls. In 2018, the global aerospace industry contributed to over 25% to the global ceramic ball market revenue reaching over USD 200 million and is projected experience considerable growth during the years to follow. The application of ceramic balls in the manufacturing of airframes, navigation systems, gyroscopes, avionic instruments, flow meters, and others systems allows ceramic balls to operate 20% to 40% faster as compared to steel balls while weighing 40% less than the latter, which is further expected to boost the global ceramic ball market size during the forecast period.

Furthermore, favorable government regulations pertaining to lightweight components, low VOC emission, and rapid industrialization in the emerging economies are expected to cumulatively drive the growth of the global ceramic ball market trend during the review period.

However, the manufacturing process of ceramic balls is highly expensive as compared to its other metal counterparts, which is likely to hinder the global market growth during the review period.

Pricing and Standardization Analysis

In 2018, the alumina ceramic ball was priced around USD 642.8– 1148.1 per ton across the globe. In the same year, the price of Zirconia ball varied from USD 800 to 2000 per ton. Zirconia balls have witnessed a gradual rise of USD 90.15–120.40 per tons in price from 2015 till 2018 and this trend is likely to continue during the forecast period, which is expected to make zirconia balls one of the fastest-growing segments in the market.

The stringent safety standards for aerospace, automobile and other applications for ceramic balls are likely to boost the demand for ceramic balls during the forecast period. For instance, according to the ASTM International application of silicon nitride balls in aerospace to be made from Class I ASTM F2094. The standards of ASTM's rolling element bearing offer the specification and testing methods that are pertinent for designing and enhance the performance of mechanical components. For instance, F2094/F2094M - 18a is the standard specification for silicon nitride bearing balls by the ASTM. Moreover, according to the International Organization for Standardization Rolling bearings Balls, dimensions and tolerances are set under ISO 3290:2001, while ISO 3290-2:2014 specifies the requirement of finished silicon nitride balls for rolling bearings, and ISO 19843:2018 is for determining the strength of the ceramic balls. Furthermore, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reclassified the hip joint metal/ceramic/polymer semi-constrained cemented or non-cemented prosthesis, which is referred as ceramic ball hip system from class III (premarket approval) into class II (performance standards) under the Federal Register, vol. 53, No. 103. A premarket notification (510k) must be submitted by all the distributors of ceramic balls and hip stems labeled for use with a ceramic ball.

Market Drivers

• High demand for ceramic balls over steel or plastic balls due to excellent corrosion resistance and electrical resistance.


• Increasing demand for lightweight components in end-use industries is likely to fuel the demand for ceramic balls


• Growth of the aerospace industry coupled with the usage of ceramic balls in multi-functional and high-performance parts

Market Restraints

• High manufacturing and raw material costs are expected to hamper the global market growth

Segmentation

By Material Type

• Alumina Oxide: The alumina oxide segment held the largest market share of more than 35% in 2019 and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to its hardness, immune to all type furnace conditions, and resistance to abrasion. These properties allow alumina oxide to be used across various applications such as down-hole pumps, chemical pumps, bearings, valves, flowmeters, gages, and others in the end-use industries.

• Zirconia: Zirconia are high precision balls available in various sizes. These zirconia balls can undergo self-toughening transformation which stops cracks from spreading and while making the ball stronger in stressed areas.

• Ruby Sapphire: The ruby sapphire is widely used where precise diameter tolerance is important, such as floats in flowmeters, measuring machines, and gauging devices.

• Silicon Nitride: Silicon nitride has a higher thermal expansion by 25% than steel ball which allows them to offer a low coefficient of friction.

• Others: The other segment of the global ceramic ball market includes silicon carbide, perforated ceramic balls, and others.

By Application

• Bearings: It is expected to be the largest segment in terms of application and is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period. The increasing application of rolling bearings is expected to boost the growth of the segment in the coming years. The bearing segment held a share of over 30% in 2018 and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period.

• Valves: Ceramic balls are used across the control valves with its major application in the petrochemical, oil & gas, pulp & paper, and other industries. These valves are suitable for highly abrasive rotary control, which helps to extend the plant life and lower the maintenance cost.

• Ball Screws: Ceramic in ball screws offers low friction, longer lifetime, and lowers the usage of less lubricants. It additionally reduces the temperature by 5–10o

• Grinding: These products are used in grinding media for crushing and grinding material in the mill. They are used in pharma base grinding and in tile industries, which prevents harsh wear and tear in the processing and conveying.

• Chemical Pumps: Ceramic balls are used in chemical pumps as they provide oxidation resistance, enhanced performance, high-temperature resistance, lower wear, low media contamination, and low corrosion resistance.

• Flowmeter: Flowmeter with ceramic ball makes it fit for hydrocarbon, cryogenic fluid, and water applications.

• Others: Some of the other applications include cracking, down-hole pumps, and as thermal storage packing in a metallurgical furnace.

By End-Use Industry

• Aerospace: It is expected to be the largest segment accounting for 36.8% share by 2025. The increasing production of aircraft (military and commercial) is fueling the growth of ceramic ball in the segment. The segment is expected to have the largest share owing to the paradigm shift in engineering design for corrosion-resistant components and high load parts and manufacturing process coupled with the increasing demand for defense and commercial aircraft across emerging markets including China, Brazil, and the Middle East, among others.

• Automotive: The fastest-growing segment due to increasing focus on the lightweight materials in the sector. The segment held a share of over 20% of the global ceramic ball market.

• Chemical: The segment is expected to grow due to the increasing focus of chemical manufacturers on non-corrosive materials in the sector.

• Others: The other segment includes food & beverage, construction, oil & gas, and consumer goods.

By Region

• North America


• Europe


• Asia-Pacific


• Latin America


• Middle East & Africa

Regional Analysis

• North America: A well-established aerospace industry and high emphasis on renewable energy sources are propelling the growth of the North American market. In addition, the increasing investment in the aerospace and defense industries are likely to boost the product demand in the regional market.

• Europe: Europe is expected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period. High automobile production and focus on lightweight products are factors driving the market growth in the region.

• Asia-Pacific: The regional market held the largest share of over 35%, in 2018 and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. The growth of the regional market is attributed to the high demand for the product in the expanding automotive industry in the region. Moreover, major economies such as India, China, South Korea, Japan, and other South-East Asia countries are rapidly increasing their automobile manufacturing capabilities. For instance, according to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), the Chinese automotive market has grown by 11% from 2015 to 2018, while it is expected to grow by over 25% by 2025. These factors are expected to boost the ceramic ball market in the Asia-Pacific region during the forecast period.

• Latin America: The growth of the automotive industry in the region is expected to propel the market growth for ceramic ball in the region.

• Middle East & Africa: This region has invested in its defense over the years and has a vast growth potential, which is expected to impact the global ceramic balls market size.

Key Players

• CoorsTek Inc - CERBEC


• Devson Catalyst – DEV


• Saint-Gobain – Denstone


• Industrial Tectonics Inc -Silicon Nitride Balls


• Axens


• Honeywell International Inc


• TOSHIBA MATERIALS CO., LTD


• GLOBAL PRECISION BALL AND ROLLER


• FineWay Inc


• MetalBall

Recent DevelopmentFebruary 2022 - HPQ Silicon Resources Inc., an advanced silicon solutions & technology production firm, has signed a non-disclosure agreement with PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a reputed technology supplier to develop 4N silicon material samples. HPQ is expected create samples with the use of materials that are developed by the PUREVAP Quartz Reduction Reactor pilot unit, scheduled to begin at the end of Q1. HPQ says that the 4N Silicon material will be analyzed for use as a potential feedstock for the production of silicon nitride ceramics.July 2021- SINTX Technologies Inc., an eminent original equipment manufacturer of silicon nitride ceramic for non-medical as well as medical applications, will be entering an asset purchase agreement with B4C LLC (Dayton, Ohio), which entails acquiring the technical processes and equipment needed to develop ballistic armor plates. SINTX has further become part of a technology license agreement with Precision Ceramics USA Inc. for manufacturing of a ceramic composite for use in defense armor applications.

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