The most easily recognizable ceramic insulators can be found at power substations and on electrical transformers suspended from utility poles. They are called bushings and are usually designed with several conic or circular tiers stacked on top of each other. Read More…

Leading Manufacturers
LSP Industrial Ceramics, Inc.
Myrtle Beach, SC | 609-397-8330, 609-397-8341As a manufacturer and stocking distributor of industrial and technical ceramics, LSP carries the most diversified inventory of ceramic tubes, spacers, bushings, etc. in the industry.

C-Mac International, LLC
Pittsburgh, PA | 412-406-7171C-Mac International, LLC is a custom ceramics supplier. We provide advanced ceramic component parts manufacturing for a variety of industries and provide solutions to many ceramic needs.

Insaco Inc.
Quakertown, PA | 215-536-3500Insaco provides custom grinding and machining services to fabricate precision parts from sapphire, quartz, and most technical ceramics including alumina, zirconia, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, aluminum nitride, and others.

Applied Ceramics
Fremont, CA | 510-249-9700Years of experience have created unique specializations and expertise of our engineering and product consultation team. Applied Ceramics has a proven track record in creating the highest quality products for semiconductor processing equipment, automotive ceramics, cutting tools and many other industrial ceramics. We’ve machined products for industries such as aerospace/aviation, medical, nuclear, and more, but can produce products from high-end materials for all relevant enterprises.

McDanel Advanced Ceramic Technologies
Beaver Falls, PA | 724-834-8300McDanel Advanced Ceramic Technologies LLC manufactures high quality industrial and advanced technical ceramics. We have a large selection of stock products or we will work with you to fit your specific requirements. We have ISO 9001 Certification and a 100% commitment to our customers. Our innovative design and engineering allow for large capacity, cost effectiveness and extensive sizes.

Precision Ferrites & Ceramics Inc.
Huntington Beach, CA | 877-560-5555The alumina ceramic that we offer cannot be topped! We provide technical and industrial ceramics to a broad customer base around the world. Our products serve a wide range of diverse industries including communication, chemical, weaponry as well as a host of others. Our technicians will work closely with you to come up with a product to fit your exact specifications! Visit our website today to learn more!

These tiers are designed to keep water as far away from the center of the bushing as possible; this reduces the number of avenues by which electricity could be conducted in the case of a bushing puncture or fracture.
In the context of thermal insulation, ceramic insulators are used to help maintain the temperatures of industrial ovens, art studio kilns and many other kinds of heat-generating equipment. This improves heating process efficiency while simultaneously preventing the unwanted transmission of heat, often in unsafe degrees, into workspaces.
Ceramics are often good choices for heat and electrical insulation because of the electrical and thermal non-conductivity of some ceramic varieties.
Ceramics are versatile materials and can be shaped into solid insulation of any shape. Ceramic fibers can also be spun into high temperature insulation "wool." Ceramic wool is an excellent insulator because it is easily placed around heating enclosures and prevents heat from escaping. Ceramics vary in their electrical and thermal conductivity.
Aluminum nitride and silicon carbide, for example, conduct heat well, which does not make them suitable thermal insulators. If either material was used to insulate a heating enclosure, heat generated in the enclosure would be transferred quickly to the insulation and then transferred again to the area outside of the enclosure.
Aluminum oxide ceramics are fair thermal insulators and are most effectively employed in low-heat insulation applications. Silicon nitride is better still as an insulator and zirconia is among the most effective ceramic insulators, transmitting very low levels of heat between itself and heating enclosures.
Another important property of ceramics related to their capacity as insulators is their low thermal shock susceptibility. Thermal shock susceptibility is the tendency of a material to become damaged when exposed to frequently or quickly changing temperatures. Most ceramics are very thermal shock-resistant.