Manufacturing Process Flow for Sanitaryware Ceramic Processing Ceramic undergoes through certain processes which are: * certain processes which are: * Slip Preparation & Glaze Making * Casting & Drying * Glazing * Firing * Inspection, Repairing, Re-firing & Packing 1. Slip Preparation and Glaze Making: For the slip preparation the raw materials are mixed with water as per the requirement. Proper composition along with the sufficient amount of water then gets loaded to the ball mills for grinding.Glaze is a glasslike, multi-ingredient, silicate thin layer, which adheres to the surface of ceramic body. It is usually sprayed upon dry body by manual or automatic spraying method, which after firing produces smooth, glossy, and surface with beautiful color and luster. So properties of glaze have large influence on quality of products. Generally ball milling is used to prepare glaze.
2. Casting and Drying: Slip is cast into plaster moulds. Due to the absorption and water character of porous moulds, an even thin layer gets formed on the surface which becomes thicker with time.When a desired thickness is arrived, surplus slip is poured out. Finally the layer continues to retract by de-watering resulting in the gross body. Before next process, all products need to be dried to a low water content to increase the strength of body, which is called drying.
3. Glazing: There are many glazing methods such as spraying glaze, dipping glaze, pouring glaze, brushing glaze etc. Sanitary wares are mostly adopted spraying glaze method because large volume complicated shape, low strength of body.Spraying glaze may be manual glazing or automatic glazing.
Manual glazing is done in a booth with sufficient de-dust installation, and automatic glaze spraying is done on the conveying belt. 4. Firing: These sprayed clay wares are then taken to the kiln for firing. As a result the bodies will take place a series of physical and chemical reactions, and will take a fixed shape.
The bodies are put in the entrance of tunnel and the products are pushed out from the exit. Fuel is burnt in the resisting firewall on both sides of tunnel.The tunnel kiln is consisting of three zones.
* Preheating zone * Heating zone * Cooling zone The heating zone has burners on the both sides, in the third section the product cools down by exhausting. The temperature of every section is strictly controlled by automatic ventilation equipment and the temperature-controlling facilities called thermo couples to ensure to fire every product evenly. Continuous kilns are classified as roller kilns and tunnel kilns, the roller kilns support and convey products by high temperature resistance ceramic rolling stick.In the tunnel Kiln, kiln cars are used that are made from steel frame wheels on which low mass refectories, silicon carbide board etc. are built to support products. These cars are pushed by hydraulic Pusher. 5.
Inspection, Repairing, Re-firing and Packing: This is the last process of production. Finished products are determined according to stipulated standards to select passed products and un-passed parts by repairing and re-firing. Passed products are carefully packed and then send to customers.
