Quality improvement and cost savings thanks to intelligent wear management in ceramic shaping

»1 The column speed, the degree of extrusion pressure and the composition of the ceramic body determine the amount of wear

»2 In this representative example, the increased weight for a brick when there is wear of 0.1mm of the cores corresponds to about 0.25 kg. It follows that the extra material consumption per day is approximately 9 t. That equates to additional costs of around € 540 per 0.1 mm wear of the cores – every day!

»3 The cost savings per year made by using high wear resistance cores compared to steel cores

Perfect surfaces, crack-free and intricate structures combined with the best possible economic production are the demands made of a modern ceramics production facility and therefore also of shaping technology. Wear in ceramic shaping is of prime importance in this connection. The factors influencing wear and possibilities for the effective reduction of wear are described.

1 Factors influencing wear

Column speed, the degree of extrusion pressure and the composition of the ceramic body determine the amount of wear. In addition, the shaping extrusion tools (primarily the dies) are subject to extremely severe mechanical and tribological stress owing to the high extrusion pressures. The topic of wear is a complex one, and sometimes difficult to follow, as there are many factors, some of which overlap, that play a part. Abrasive wear is certainly the main factor to be taken into account, but chemical and electrochemical wear or combinations thereof also play a part.

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