エピソード

  • Complexing agents and ceramic production: what they are and how they work

    Complexing agents and ceramic production: what they are and how they work
    2025/04/14
    Complexing agents are capable of catching multivalent cations present in suspension to prevent them from negatively affecting the ceramic process.

    They are responsible for one of the main mechanisms underlying the deflocculation process: complexation.

    Complexing agents (or chelating agents) are chemicals that bind to specific ions (such as calcium, magnesium, iron, etc.), forming stable complexes.

    This property allows them to "sequester" metals, making them less reactive or preventing their precipitation in solutions.

    These are simplified and very short descriptions of this particular category of additives.

    The episode takes a closer look at the mechanisms enacted by these substances within the ceramic production process, highlighting their functions, benefits, and sometimes, risks.
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    15 分
  • Relief surfaces and ceramic production (3D effects): methods and techniques

    Relief surfaces and ceramic production (3D effects): methods and techniques
    2025/03/31
    The topic of non-planar surfaces, which develop on multiple micro-levels and are sometimes improperly identified as 3D surfaces, plays a crucial role in giving ceramic surfaces not only a more natural appearance but also a broader and more extensive expressive potential.

    This is not a new requirement: it took its first steps with the help of traditional technologies, but it has found new momentum with the arrival of the latest digital techniques.

    The episode offers an overview of the main methodologies currently used to achieve textured surfaces, delving into the chemical mechanisms that occur on the surface and contribute to producing the desired effects.
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    18 分
  • Preparatory stages of the digital printing process: from files to ceramic support

    Preparatory stages of the digital printing process: from files to ceramic support
    2025/03/17
    In the previous episode (#45) we discussed the technical aspects of digital printing systems in relation to ceramic bricks.

    This second part looks at the necessary preparatory work for the printing phase, going through the various steps involved in preparing a print file.

    Regardless of the media on which you will work.

    Some key words: standardized lighting, colorimeter, spectrophotometer, linearization, chart...
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    19 分
  • Digital printing: opportunities and challEnges in heavy clay ceramics

    Digital printing: opportunities and challEnges in heavy clay ceramics
    2025/03/03
    At present, in the heavy clay industry, products are decorated mainly by applying engobe with the aid of scattered granules or by means of reduction effects created by the firing process.

    These techniques are suitable to produce traditional products for the existing market.

    What added value does digital printing offer in this field?
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    19 分
  • Operating temperature & ceramic production

    Operating temperature & ceramic production
    2025/02/17
    The operating temperature is an important parameter that ceramic producers must take into account in order to avoid application problems that can also negatively affect the quality of the finished product.

    However, this parameter is not always easy to manage, especially if we consider the fluctuations promoted by seasonability.

    The episode addresses the topic with the help of specific examples, highlighting the main scenarios and the different levers on which one can act to better manage the anomalies that may occur along the production lines.
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    19 分
  • Chemicals for ceramic production: a focus on deflocculant and binders

    Chemicals for ceramic production: a focus on deflocculant and binders
    2025/02/03
    Most ceramic production processes involve the dispersion of ceramic powders in a liquid medium - mostly water - to obtain a suspension or, more generally, a dispersed system.

    To provde the suspensions with the desired stability and workability, depending on the different applications, we use the addition of small quantities of suitable chemicals that, interacting with the solid particles, change the rheological behaviour of the whole system.

    The episode offers a picture of two categories of chemical - deflocculants and binders - almost always involved in order to achieve the right result and therefore the correct application performance.
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    12 分
  • Analysis of ceramic suspensions: tools and purposes

    Analysis of ceramic suspensions: tools and purposes
    2025/01/20
    All analysis of ceramic suspensions carried out by those companies that supply chemicals for ceramic production are fundamental to properly develop the processes that take place along the production line.

    The episode provides an overview about the role of these important investigations, with a focus on the data and on the operations of the involved tools.

    We will talk about jars, pycnometers, laser granulometers, sieves, rheometers, pointing out how all these tools are important in providing ceramic producers with the correct information to proceed without problems or unexpected critical issues.
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    22 分
  • Chemicals & seasonality: problems and suggestions

    Chemicals & seasonality: problems and suggestions
    2024/12/23
    After addresing the impact that seasonality can have on the the fluidization of ceramic mixtures and on bacterial proliferation within semi-finished products, this second part of the episode 41 tries to show and explain the consequences that temperature changes may produce on the drying time of ceramic suspension, leading to alterations that often force producers to revise the parameters of the glazing line.

    After offering the usual suggestions to handle the problem, the episode ends with a focus on the solubility of surfactants that can be also susceptible to seasonal and temperature changes.
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    14 分