Macor

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Machinable glass-ceramic material

title: "Macor" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["glass-ceramics", "glass-trademarks-and-brands"] description: "Machinable glass-ceramic material" topic_path: "general/glass-ceramics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macor" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Machinable glass-ceramic material ::

Macor is the trademark for a machinable glass-ceramic developed and sold by Corning Inc. It is a white material that looks somewhat like porcelain. Macor is a good thermal insulator and is stable up to temperatures of 1000 °C, with very little thermal expansion or outgassing. It can be machined using standard metalworking tools.

Composition

Macor is made up of fluorphlogopite mica in a borosilicate glass matrix. Its composition is roughly: 46 wt% silica (SiO2), 17 wt% magnesium oxide (MgO), 16 wt% aluminium oxide (Al2O3), 10 wt% potassium oxide (K2O), 7 wt% boron trioxide (B2O3), 4 wt% fluorine (F).

Properties

Macor has a density of 2.52 g/cm3, a Young's modulus of 66.9 GPa at 25 °C, a specific stiffness of 26.55 m2s−2, a Poisson’s Ratio of 0.29 and a thermal conductivity of 1.46 W/(m·K). It has a low-temperature (25 to 300 °C) thermal expansion of 9.3 K−1. Its compressive strength is 50 lb/in2 (~350 MPa). Nominal engineering properties are comparable to borosilicate glass.

Extremely machinable, Macor offers tight-tolerance capabilities, allowing complicated shape design (optimal performances up to ±0.013 mm for dimensions, Its coefficient of thermal expansion readily matches most metals and sealing glasses. As an electric insulator, particularly at high temperatures, it is excellent at high voltages and a broad spectrum of frequencies.

Macor comes in a standard size maxi slab (about ). Components, bars, rods and plates can be machined within the size of this slab (hand tools can be used).

Applications

Macor is used in the following applications:

  • Constant and ultra-high vacuum environments
  • Laser technology
  • Semiconductor / electronic
  • Aerospace / space
  • Medical/ laboratory equipment
  • Fixtures
  • Chemical
  • Automobile
  • Military
  • Nuclear

Safety

There are no major safety concerns or toxic effects associated with Macor. The dust created when machining it can be an irritant, and inhalation should be avoided.

Machining guidelines

Key factors for successful machining are proper machining speeds and coolant. Macor can be machined with high-speed steel tools, but carbide tools are recommended for longer wear. Best results achieved by using a water-soluble coolant (such as Cimstar 40 – Pink) especially formulated for cutting and grinding glass or ceramics. No post-firing is required after machining.

References

References

  1. "Macor Machinable Glass".
  2. "MACOR Brochure".
  3. "Archived copy".
  4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110714022518/http://www.makeitfrom.com/compare/?left=Borosilicate_Glass&right=MACOR Compare Materials: Borosilicate Glass and Macor].
  5. [https://media.freeola.com/images/user-images/11763/corning_macor_slab.jpg Corning Macor Maxi-Slab].
  6. (26 September 2017). "Macor Glass Ceramic".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

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