Colorificid ceramico.
SANITARY WARE
TABLE WARE
REFRACTORIES
ABRASIVE
TILES
SANITARY WARE
SANITARY WARE
In the sanitary ware industry one of the main applications of additives is the rheological adjustment of ceramic bodies and glazes. The use of pressure casting equipment and robots requires constant slurry parameters that vary as little as possible to be able to obtain reproducible production results.
Raw material preparation
- Dispersants : When producing ceramics, energy costs have a considerable share in the overall expenses of the final product.
- Filtration agents : The efficiency of the pressure casting process, as well as the cost effectiveness of conventional slip casting, are dependent on the output per unit time, which in turn depends on the casting rate.
- Biocides : Biocides are required for the application of organic additives and/or raw materials to counteract their deterioration caused by micro organisms such as bacteria, yeasts or fungi, and consequently to guarantee long term stability.
- Temporary binders : An increasing use of robots and the production of complicated geometries have lead to a growing demand for improved component strength.
Glaze additives
- Dispersants : Dispersants are used in glazes and engobes to specifically influence the rheological properties and solids content of the slip.
- Antifoam agents : During the preparation of slips foam can form through surface active substances and also through the mechanical energy input.
- Biocides : Biocides are required for the application of organic additives and/or raw materials to counteract their deterioration caused by micro organisms such as bacteria, yeasts or fungi, and consequently to guarantee long term stability.
- Rheological additives : Rheological additives have an important function: They create the prerequisites for a defined reproducible adjustment of glaze rheology, and they guarantee constant results with applications by hand and spray robot on vertical surfaces.
- Suspension aids : Specific suspension aids are used to prevent sedimentation of glazes.
- Temporary binders : Temporary binders bring about an increase in mechanical resistance at the surface of glazes and engobes hence leading to an improved touch-resistant finish.
Auxiliaries for mould production
- Cleaning agents : Specific cleaning agents prevent early aging of the resin pressure casting moulds.
- Plaster additives : On account of their surface activity, plaster additives act as deflocculants, which means: the solids content in the plaster slurry can be increased whilst maintaining the same processing consistency.
- Release agents : Release agents bring about good separation of the plaster negative cast from the master mould form.
TABLE WARE
TABLE WARE
Additives play an important role during the production of high-quality tableware. Essential goals are energy savings in the spray dryer, optimisation of the pressing granules and the faultless glaze application.
optimisation of the pressing granules and the faultless glaze application.
Raw material preparation
- Dispersants for spray bodies : During the manufacture of ceramic products, energy costs have a considerable share in the overall expenses of the final product.
- Dispersants for casting bodies : Deflocculants used for the casting of ceramic bodies can help to save water and energy resources, and to augment the production output in a similar way as do those deflocculants applied for the spray process.
- Antifoam agents : During the preparation of slips foam can form through surface active substances and also through the mechanical energy input.
- Filtration agents : The efficiency of the pressure casting process, as well as the cost effectiveness of conventional slip casting, are dependent on the output per unit time, which in turn depends on the casting rate.
- Biocides : Biocides are required for the application of organic additives and/or raw materials to counteract their deterioration caused by micro organisms such as bacteria, yeasts or fungi, and consequently to guarantee long term stability.
- Pressing agents and lubricants : The pressing agents and lubricants are used, amongst others, for isostatic pressing of ceramic bodies, where they promote better shaping characteristics.
- Temporary binders for casting bodies : In the tableware sector, temporary binders are used in pressing, casting and plastic bodies to increase the green and dry breaking strength and, hence, to minimise waste and scrap.
- Temporary binders for spray bodies : Temporary binders are used for spray bodies to improve the green and dry breaking strength.
Glaze additives
- Dispersants : Dispersants are used in glazes and engobes to specifically influence the rheological properties and solids content of the slip.
- Antifoam agents : During the preparation of slips foam can form through surface active substances and also through the mechanical energy input.
- Biocides : Biocides are required for the application of organic additives and/or raw materials to counteract their deterioration caused by micro organisms such as bacteria, yeasts or fungi, and consequently to guarantee long term stability.
- Rheological additives : Rheological additives have an important function: They create the prerequisites for a defined reproducible adjustment of glaze rheology, and they guarantee constant results with applications by hand and spray robot on vertical surfaces.
- Suspension aids : Specific suspension aids are used to prevent sedimentation of glazes.
- Temporary binders : Temporary binders bring about an increase in mechanical resistance at the surface of glazes and engobes hence leading to an improved touch-resistant finish.
Auxiliaries for mould production
- Cleaning agents : Specific cleaning agents prevent early aging of the resin pressure casting moulds.
- Plaster additives : On account of their surface activity, plaster additives act as deflocculants, which means: the solids content in the plaster slurry can be increased whilst maintaining the same processing consistency.
- Release agents : Release agents bring about good separation of the plaster negative cast from the master mould.
REFRACTORIES
REFRACTORIES
An elaborated product portfolio of additives, which have been specially designed for each individual process, is available for the manifold application spectrum in the refractory industry.
Refractory components
- Setting accelerators : Short setting times are required for the time-optimised manufacture of cement bonded components.
- Chemical binders : Chemical binders are applied in refractory bodies to reduce or even replace hydraulic binding agents.
- Dispersants : Thixotropic vibration bodies or self-flowing castables are often used in refractory applications.
- Wetting agents : Wetting agents permit the introduction and dispersion of hydrophobic raw materials in refractory bodies (e.g. soot and graphite).
- Porosity inducing agents : The use of splinter porosity inducing agents serves to adjust the pore size, pore volume and pore distribution in a targeted manner.
- Release agents : Release agents are used during the manufacture of refractory components and bricks to achieve easy separation of the mould pieces from the moulds made of steel, resin and wood.
- Setting accelerators : Short setting times are often required during the use of cement bonded mastics.
- Chemical binders : Chemical binders are applied in refractory bodies to reduce or even replace hydraulic binding agents.
- Biocides : Biocides are required for the application of organic additives and/or raw materials to counteract their deterioration caused by micro organisms such as bacteria, yeasts or fungi, and consequently to guarantee long term stability.
- Wetting agents : Wetting agents permit the introduction and dispersion of hydrophobic raw materials in refractory bodies (e.g. soot and graphite).
- Plasticizers : On account of their swelling capacity, plasticizers increase the plasticity of non-plastic raw materials, which makes it possible to avoid the addition of clay as a plasticizer.
- Temporary binders : Temporary binders bring about an increase in green and dry breaking strength through the formation of adhesive forces.
- Water glass hardeners : In ceramic mastics containing water glass the use of a hardener for water glass, which hydrolyses in the alkaline environment, allows the controlled precipitation of silicic acid leading to a defined hardening of the body.
- Setting accelerators : Short setting times are required to keep lining and repair times of aggregates as short as possible.
- Chemical binders : Chemical binders are applied in refractory bodies to reduce or even replace hydraulic binding agents.
- Wetting agents : Powder wetting agents permit – after their activation through water addition – the dispersion of hydrophobic raw materials in refractory gunning mixes (e.g. soot and graphite).
- Porosity inducing agents : The use of splinter porosity inducing agents serves to adjust the pore size, pore volume and pore distribution in a targeted manner.
- Dust binding agents : In order to reduce dust formation when dealing with dry delivered gunning mixes, a dust binder is already incorporated into the body during the mixing process.
- Chemical binders : Chemical binders are applied in refractory bodies to reduce or even replace hydraulic binding agents.
- Wetting agents : Wetting agents permit the introduction and dispersion of hydrophobic raw materials in refractory bodies (e.g. soot and graphite).
- Plasticizers : On account of their swelling capacity, plasticizers increase the plasticity of non-plastic raw materials, which makes it possible to avoid the addition of clay as a plasticizer.
- Porosity inducing agents : The use of splinter porosity inducing agents serves to adjust the pore size, pore volume and pore distribution in a targeted manner.
- Chemical binders : Chemical binders are applied in refractory bodies to reduce or even replace hydraulic binding agents.
- Wetting agents : Wetting agents permit the introduction and dispersion of hydrophobic raw materials in refractory bodies (e.g. soot and graphite).
- Porosity inducing agents : The use of splinter porosity inducing agents serves to adjust the pore size, pore volume and pore distribution in a targeted manner.
- Pressing agents and lubricants : The use of pressing agents and lubricants in refractory pressing bodies improves their lubricating effect.
- Temporary binders : Temporary binders bring about an increase in green and dry breaking strength through the formation of adhesive forces.
- Release agents : Release agents are used during the manufacture of refractory components and bricks to achieve easy separation of the mould pieces from the moulds made of steel, resin and wood.
- Setting accelerators : Short setting times are required to guarantee high-volume production, and to keep repair times of aggregates as short as possible.
- Chemical binders : Chemical binders are applied in refractory bodies to reduce or even replace hydraulic binding agents.
- Dispersants : Thixotropic vibration bodies or self-flowing castables are often used in refractory applications.
- Flocculents : Flocculents are mainly used for the flocculation of silica sol (e.g. LITHOSOL 1530).
- Wetting agents : Powder wetting agents permit – after their activation through the addition of water – the dispersion of hydrophobic raw materials in refractory vibration bodies (e.g. soot and graphite).
- Porosity inducing agents : The use of splinter porosity inducing agents serves to adjust the pore size, pore volume and pore distribution in a targeted manner.
ABRASIVE
ABRASIVE TOOLS
The target adjustment of porosity, as well as high strengths and good pressing properties in the green state are the fundamental requirements of additives, which are applied for the production of abrasive tools.
Raw material preparation
- Dispersants : Dispersants permit to reduce the water content in ceramic dispersions.
- Porosity inducing agents : Porosity inducing agents serve for the specific adjustment of pore size, pore volume and pore distribution.
- Pressing agents and lubricants : Pressing agents and lubricants promote a homogeneous compaction during pressing and, hence, bring about a reduction of the internal stresses that could lead to defects – especially cracks in the abrasive tool – during the technological steps that follow.
- Temporary binders : After the shaping process, it is necessary for the abrasive tool to have sufficient strength to withstand further handling during subsequent processing.
TILES
TILES
In the tile industry additives are used in the preparation of ceramic bodies and glazes, as well as for decoration. The targets are numerous and, through consistent processing, energy savings and increased capacity can be achieved to obtain reproducible results according to the defined design parameters.
Glaze additives
- Dispersants:Dispersants are used in glazes and engobes to specifically influence the rheological properties and solids content of the slip.
- Antifoam agents:During the preparation of slips foam can form through surface active substances and also through the mechanical energy input.
- Biocides:Biocides are required for the application of organic additives and/or raw materials to counteract their deterioration caused by micro organisms such as bacteria, yeasts or fungi, and consequently to guarantee long term stability.
- Wetting agents:Non-foaming wetting agents reduce the surface tension of aqueous glaze systems.
- Rheological additives:Rheological additives have an important function: They create the prerequisites for a defined reproducible adjustment of glaze rheology, and they guarantee constant results with applications by hand and spray robot on vertical surfaces.
- Suspension aids:Specific suspension aids are used to prevent sedimentation of glazes.
- Temporary binders:Temporary binders bring about an increase in mechanical resistance at the surface of glazes and engobes hence leading to an improved touch-resistant finish.
Raw material preparation
- Dispersants:During the manufacture of ceramic products, energy costs have a considerable share in the overall expenses of the final product.
- Biocides:Biocides are required for the application of organic additives and/or raw materials to counteract their deterioration caused by micro organisms such as bacteria, yeasts or fungi, and consequently to guarantee long term stability.
- Milling agents:Dry milling agents are additives, which are used in the dry milling process of ceramic raw materials in a ball mill and/or other types of mills to increase throughput, improve energy efficiency and to modify the quality of the material to be milled.
- Pressing agents and lubricants:The pressing of complicated geometries in the tiles sector (e.g. decorative border tiles and shaped pieces) can lead to damages on the components during the technological processes that follow, caused by internal stresses.
- Temporary binders:An increasing use of robots and the production of complicated geometries have lead to a growing demand for improved component strength.
Decorating aids
- Additives for the adjustment of printing pastes:Printing pastes used in the production of tiles need to have distinct properties (e.g. viscosity, drying time).
- Third-firing mediums:Third-firing mediums are pasting agents used for printing inks to decorate onto fired glazes, which are non-absorbent in comparison with raw glazes.
- Fixatives:Fixatives are required for the decoration onto unfired glazes directly after glaze application, to improve the touch-resistant finish of the glaze surface before printing.
- Granulate application:We differ between two different types of binders for granulate application.
- Rotocolor and Laserroll mediums:Rotocolor and Laserroll mediums are available for the production of printing pastes with excellent pigment absorption.
- Screen printing mediums:Paste additives for decorating colours with excellent pigment absorption, and further specific product properties, are used for direct decoration of tiles by the screen printing process.
Digital printing
- Additives for ink production:For the self-production of digital printing inks, milling mediums are available under the name of DECOFLUX DP in combination with the mediums of the DECOFLUX DP R series which are employed to adjust the final ink viscosity and, hence, the printing properties.
- Digital printing inks:Under the trade name TRUCOLOR we offer ready-to-use printing inks for tile decoration with digital printing technology.
- Effect inks:The effect printing inks (reactive, matt, glossy, lustre, texture and white) of the TRUCOLOR EF series are used for digital printing in single- and double-firing applications.
- Granulate applications:A special inkjet binder with strong cohesive power is available for tile decoration with digital printing technology.
- Surface pre-treatment:Additives offered under the name DIGICER PRIMER are used before the digital printing process, to avoid negative processing properties, such as for example condensation of water vapour under the printing bar.
- Cleaners:The TRUCLEAN cleaners serve for the cleaning of every ink-guiding machine part and for general maintenance of the digital printing equipment.
Surface treatment
- POLISHIELD:POLISHIELD is a sealer for porcelain stoneware. It closes the open pores of polished surfaces through the formation of a reticular structure, thus preventing soiling of the surface.