How Its Made: Ceramic Tiles

Summary

This video script details the production process of ceramic tiles, highlighting their durability and resistance to wear, stains, and odors. The factory's process involves mixing talc with secret chemicals, molding, automated painting, and a meticulous baking process in a massive kiln. The result is a high-quality, versatile tile suitable for various applications, including flooring, backsplashes, and bathroom walls.

Takeaways

• 🏠 Ceramic tiles are versatile and suitable for various surfaces including flooring, kitchen backsplashes, and bathroom walls due to their durability against humidity and resistance to liquids and odors.
• 🔥 They are fireproof, fade-resistant, and stain-resistant, making them a low-maintenance choice for home installations.
• 🛠️ The production process of floor tiles is similar to that of wall tiles but involves a different composition of ingredients.
• 🕰️ The mixing process is highly precise, with a 6% water to 94% powder ratio and a 12-minute mixing duration to prevent overheating and drying out.
• 🚂 The mixture is transported via a conveyor belt to a grinder, ensuring a uniform fine texture for tile formation.
• 🤖 The factory utilizes fully automated machinery to produce standard 10.8 cm square tiles, showcasing the efficiency of modern manufacturing techniques.
• 🔩 A press applies heat and pressure to compact the mixture into molds, creating the tile shape while maintaining the integrity of the material.
• 🧹 Tiles are cleaned with a revolving brush to ensure a dust-free surface, crucial for proper paint adhesion.
• 🎨 The factory uses a water-based paint specifically designed for ceramics, which is continuously circulated to maintain a consistent color blend.
• 🚿 The painting process is automated, with tiles passing through spray zones and drying under heating elements in seconds.
• 🔥 Tiles are baked in a gas-powered kiln, which is 58 meters long and can bake up to 50,000 wall tiles at once, highlighting the scale of production.
• ⏱️ The firing process takes 14 hours with a gradual temperature increase to 1075 degrees Celsius and a slow cool-down to avoid thermal shock and cracking.

Q & A

Why are ceramic tiles a popular choice for flooring, kitchen backsplashes, and bathroom walls?

Ceramic tiles are popular due to their ability to withstand humidity without absorbing liquids or odors, being fireproof, fade-resistant, stain-resistant, and durable as they do not wear out with use.

What is the starting ingredient used in the production of ceramic tiles?

The starting ingredient is talc, a soft, powdery mineral which is blended with four different powdered chemicals, the names of which are a company secret.

What is the water to powder ratio in the mixture used for making ceramic tiles?

The mixture has a 6 percent water to 94 percent powder ratio.

How long does the mixer run for the ceramic tile mixture?

The mixer runs for precisely 12 minutes to avoid overheating and drying out the mixture.

What is the standard size of the wall tiles produced by the factory?

The standard wall tile size produced by the factory is 10.8 centimeters square.

How does the factory ensure the tiles are formed into the correct shape?

The factory uses fully automated machinery and a press that applies heat and pressure to compact the mixture into a mold, solidifying the shape of the tiles.

What happens to the tiles after they are formed and before they are painted?

The tiles are transported on a conveyor belt, flipped right-side up without breaking, and then cleaned by a revolving brush to remove dust and contaminants for paint adhesion.

What type of paint is used for the ceramic tiles, and how is it applied?

The factory uses a water-based paint specifically designed for ceramics, which is applied through an automatic process that resembles an automatic car wash, with four spray zones and immediate drying under heating elements.

How are square border tiles different from regular wall tiles?

Square border tiles look like regular wall tiles but have two rounded edges, which produce a clean finished look when installed above the regular tiles.

Why are border tiles often more expensive than regular tiles?

Border tiles are often more expensive due to the manual labor required in their molding process, as it is more complex than the fully automated process for regular tiles.

What is the length of the kiln used for baking the tiles, and how many tiles can it bake at once?

The kiln is 58 meters in length, longer than an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and can bake approximately 50,000 wall tiles in one batch.

What is the firing process like in the kiln, and how long does it take?

The firing process takes 14 hours, starting at 200 degrees Celsius, gradually increasing to a peak of 1075 degrees, and then slowly descending back to the starting temperature, with a cooling period of about an hour.