Manufacturing of ceramic cores: From hot injection to 3D printing

•Performance of 3D printing ceramic core can meet the casting requirements of single crystal superalloy blade, and is a potential technology for the preparation of complex ceramic core structure.•The 3D printed ceramic core had a typical layered structure, and the pore diameter was small. Net-like ZrO2 was formed around the SiO2 particles, which promoted the formation of ZrSiO4, quartz and cristobalite in the sintering process.•Potential improvement direction of stereolithography 3D printed ceramic cores was proposed based on the hot injection process.•Researching 3D printing core technology based on the traditional hot injection process provides an effective new idea for promoting the industrial application of 3D printing core technology.