Ceramic Processing

Industrial Practices

Debasish Sarkar

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351381604
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Chemistry
• Index: Chemistry

This book gives a comprehensive account on the manufacturing techniques to synchronize the desired properties of both traditional and advanced ceramics.

Offers exclusive and up to date information on industrial ceramic processing equipment and approaches and discusses actual industrial practices taking a product-oriented approach

It should serve as a text to answer the processing of ceramics and achieve targeted product in industrial environment.

1

Manufacturing Excellence in Ceramic Industry

Mithugopal Mandal and Debasish Sarkar

CONTENTS

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Inception and Advancement of Ceramic Manufacturing

1.3 Process Design in the Ceramic Industry

1.4 Manufacturing Strategy

1.4.1 Inhouse Manufacturing

1.4.2 Outhouse Manufacturing (Third-Party Manufacturing/Subcontracting)

1.5 Operational Excellence

1.5.1 Toyota Production System (TPS)

1.5.2 Lean Manufacturing

1.5.3 Value Stream Mapping and Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram

1.5.4 Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma

1.5.5 KANBAN System

1.5.6 Just-in-Time (JIT)

1.6 Design of Experiment

1.6.1 Factorial Method

1.6.2 Taguchi Method

1.6.3 Response Surface Method (RSM)

1.6.4 Other Methodologies

1.6.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of DOE

1.6.6 DOE in Ceramic Research and Development

1.7 Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0

1.7.1 Inception of Smart Manufacturing

1.7.2 Why Smart Manufacturing is Called Smart

1.7.3 Need of Smart Manufacturing

1.7.4 Does Smart Manufacturing Mean Only Robots?

1.7.5 Possibility of Mass Customization

1.7.6 Impacts of Industry 4.0

1.7.7 Technology Roadmap for Industry 4.0

1.8 Concluding Remarks

References

1.1 Introduction

The manufacturing sector has a significant impact on a country’s GDP, so the manufacturing capabilities of any country decides upon the macro- and microeconomic position as well. As key and diverse industries, ceramics industries (like refractories, cement, tile, glass, etc.) make a substantial contribution toward the overall manufacturing output of the country. It is important to understand the dynamics of conventional ceramic manufacturing and the paradigm shift due to emerging disruptive technologies. This chapter is a brief discussion on how manufacturing excellence philosophies can be adopted in the ceramic manufacturing context with appropriate strategy. A brief note on Industry 4.0 is also provided, as it is being considered as the next big change in manufacturing.

1.2 Inception and Advancement of Ceramic Manufacturing

Is the ceramic industry the oldest one in terms of systematic production serving human need? Or can we call this industry the mother of all other industries? Maybe not so. Maybe textile manufacturing started at the infancy stage of human community. Some scientific research says that initial textile weaving started as early as 100,000 – 500,000 years ago, whereas the earliest earthenware is presumed to be made 24,000 years ago. However, large scale textiles production started not before 50,000–60,000 years ago, when humans first started using sewing needles made of wood or from the stem of plants. Evidence from South Africa, Siberia, Slovenia, Russia, China, Spain and France reinforces this assumption. Many evidence suggests that there has been a continuous progression in the textile industry since its inception. However, structured textile production may have started around 5000 BC, when human started using net gauges, spindle needles and weaving sticks for large-scale production (Figure 1.1).

FIGURE 1.1
Evidence of textile usage in the ancient age.

Still, the ceramics industry is undoubtedly one of the most ancient industries. Clay was the first raw material used to manufacture ceramicware that is predominantly known as earthenware. Subsequently applying heat and adding new substances to increase the strength of the body have been a major change in the manufacturing process. Clay-based fired pottery has benefited human life, starting with storage and preservation or transportation of solid and liquid materials from one place to another. It was around 9000–10000 BC when clay pottery (Figure 1.2) took its position in day-to-day human life.

FIGURE 1.2
Few examples of early day’s clay potteries.

In those days or little later, ceramic tiles and bricks were discovered, though in a very initial form. It is not clear when exactly glass ceramics emerged, but it is generally assumed to be around 8000 BC in Greece. Initially it was treated as an overheated glazed material and applied to the surface of clay pottery to provide shine, color and strength; later, glass was recognized as a separate category of material. In a later age, glass technologies opened a remarkably new area for material science and society as well.

Thus, the contribution of the ceramics toward human progress is immense. In the advancement of ceramics, refractories and insulators have been other milestones. Refractory has given an edge to the manufacturing of steel and glass-like materials, which melt in higher temperatures in order make a definite shape of various forms and structures. During the 16th Century, the refractory brought an industrial revolution. Not only did refractories help glass and steel manufacturing but they aided in the manufacturing of cement, coke, chemicals and other high temperature-assisted products. The usage of ceramics as insulation came into the picture during the 19th Century, and they have been widely used in various fields like automobiles, radios, televisions, computers, furnace, etc. More recently, ceramic products have been further classified into traditional and advanced ceramics, where the traditional ceramics include refractories, glass, cement, whiteware, abrasives and conventional coating, whereas the advanced ceramics cover magnetics, dielectrics, photocatalytic, load and impact resistance ceramics, etc. [1, 2].

Evidently, there has been research done to understand the inception of the ancient ceramic production and how the human community first started it, but most of them fail to explain the degree of automation, the production system, mode of flow, etc. It is obvious that the driver of early pottery was the needs of individuals. Mass-scale production was out of reach until the machine replaced some of the manual work. If we look at the early days, people used to manufacture their necessary and utility items, like cookware, cups, saucers, etc., through manually driven processes. Thus, the textiles industry grew alongside the ceramic industry to fulfill the basic needs of life and improve the standard of living. The need for automation arose with the need to increase the production, perfection and quality of the articles being manufactured. Handmade or manually constructed items may not have the same repeatability in terms of quality because of multiple variables involved in manual production.

1.3 Process Design in the Ceramic Industry

Since the beginning, there has been continuous trial and error to improve the product and its quality, so there have been permutations and combinations of the raw materials used for manufacturing the different ceramic wares. For a long time scientists have been asked, “What kind of raw materials did the ancient people use? How did they process it? How did they move to mass-scale production from unit-level production?” Let us understand what raw materials were used, how they were processed and finally how they were given the final coatings before heat treatment and delivered as a finished product. Depending on the nature of the ceramic ware, typical process steps have to be followed in the target of specific size, shape and properties, as illustrated in Figure 1.3.

FIGURE 1.3
A common ceramic ware processing protocol continued from early days.

• Raw material collection, crushing and grinding (more of a manual method)
• Mixing (dry and wet)
• Forming (giving a specific shape, either manually or with a wooden mold)
• Surface coating with some design
• Drying to reduce the moisture
• Firing (to harden the shape and make it unbreakable)
• Machining and finishing (as if required)

If we look at the raw material selection and crushing and grinding process, initially it started with clay, maybe a combination of different natures of clays (plastic and non-­plastic clay), a mix and match of different varieties. With time different materials were tried, like sand, quartz, feldspar, etc. Therefore, the mixing and grinding itself became a process which needed automation for the bulk materials.

Next is shaping or forming. This started with a simple handmade process. With the progress of time, demand-specific design, dimension, and thus molds were discovered that sped up the manufacturing process. Let us take the example of firing that may have started with open-air firing and subsequently closed chamber firing, which follows a specific firing profile including temperature, time and pressure. With the progress of time and development of a manufacturing system to mass-scale production, multiple players joined in the market so competition among them became the common feature for survival. As competition grows, there is a need for organizational strategy that primarily consists of sustainability in the market and healthy financial practices. Marketing strategy was thought of as a survival weapon for the organization, but that was not sufficient. Companies had to think differently and re-prioritize their focus areas. During the 18th Century, manufactur...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Editor
• Chapter Contributors
• 1. Manufacturing Excellence in Ceramic Industry
• 2. Particle Management
• 3. Transparent Ceramics
• 4. Porous Ceramics
• 5. Ceramic Coatings
• 6. Refractories and Failures
• 7. Whiteware and Glazes
• 8. Glass Processing and Properties
• 9. Miniaturization of Complex Ceramics
• 10. Structural and Functional Prototypes
• Summary
• Index