Winter preparations

It is that time of year whereby preparations for the winter months start. Heaters have all been serviced, by RG Combustion, this year’s Engineer was Buddy, who we have to say is a credit to his employers. The Factory has the added bonus of the warmth that derives from the kilns, a bonus in the winter months, but definitely not the summer months!

Kilns are a type of oven, a thermally insulated chamber, producing temperatures that are sufficient to complete processes, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. The earliest known kiln dates back around 6000 BC, now a days they are either Electric or gas, with modern kilns often having advanced electrical systems to control the firing temperatures.

Kilns are an important process in the manufacture of our ceramics that require heat treatment. Often our kilns are set to high temperatures a process where chemical and physical reactions occur that permanently alter the unfired body. Before the ceramic is heat treated it is in its “green” state, it then undergoes heat-treatment also known as firing or sintering to produce a rigid, finished component.

Some applications may require further machining and/or polishing after firing in order to meet the customers’ specific design criteria.

Below you will find examples of heat treated components in materials such as Steatites, Alumina and Pyrophyllite all manufactured on site from the mixing of the raw materials to the finished component.