Ceramic materials have special properties that make them attractive to designers if the application is right. The following design recommendations, compiled from Bralla and other sources, apply to both new and traditional ceramic materials, although designers are more likely to find opportunities for new ceramics in engineered products. In gen eral, the same guidelines apply to cemented carbides. Ceramic materials are several times stronger in compression than in tension com- ponents should be designed to be subjected to compressive stresses. not tensile stresses. Ceramics are brittle and possess almost no ductility. Ceramic parts should not be used in applications that involve impact loading or high stresses that might cause fracture. Although many of the ceramic-shaping processes allow complex geometries to be formed, it is desirable to keep shapes simple for both economic and technical rea sons, Deep holes, channels, and undercuts should be avoided, as should large can- tilevered projections.