Clay Raw Materials For Ceramic Tableware
Ceramics have three main types of raw materials used to produce them, with clay inclusive. Before we go into all that, it is essential that you know that so many factors influence and affect how ceramic wares turn out. This depends on the kind of materials used to make them.
Clay
Ceramic materials are usually made from clay. The other components are water, aluminum, and silicon dioxide. Clay has characteristics of plasticity as its main components are hydrous aluminosilicate crystals. It is a versatile raw material that is used in the production of so many things including ceramics. It is also used in the production of porcelain tableware.
Components Of Clay
Clay consists of three types which are kaolin, bentonite, and pyrophyllite.
Kaolin
The major constituent of the kaolin type of Clay is kaolinite. Well, this type of clay is generally used to make porcelain. Because of its impurities, it has a low melting point. It has so many great properties such as its drying strength, plasticity and malleability, sintering property and whiteness after that, shrinkage and so on. There are however different qualities of this type of clay and each result in different grades of ceramic tableware.
Bentonite
The major constituent of this type of clay is montmorillonite and this makes up about 85 to 90 percent of this particular clay. It can absorb water fast and has the property of expansibility. It is mainly used in the production of ceramics because it has plasticity and has strong glazing strength.
Pyrophyllite
The pyrophyllite type of clay is very smooth and has a greasy feeling. Asides that, it can be used for lubrication when in powder form. It is used in the production of ceramic products because it doesn't deform easily. Also, it expands when wet and has a high resistance to cracking.
In general, clay is a very good raw material when it comes to the production of ceramics. Apart from making ceramics, it can also be used to make sculptures. The plasticity property found in clay makes it possible for sintering and allows it to be molded in different shapes and sizes.
While using clay to produce ceramics however, it is very important that one should understand the role and functions if the different components of clay so that the right desires can be achieved. If it is not done in this way, you might not get what you want.
Processing Ceramics
A lot of products in the home are made from ceramics including plates. Ceramics are used to make products that are different in size, shape, composition and so on. Ceramics, especially those used to make dinnerware are usually processed through glazing processing. This will enable it to meet up its needs. Also, ceramics can be formed in different ways such as injection molding, slip casting, extrusion and so on.
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