This year, the prices of raw materials in all walks of life have increased, and the prices of raw materials such as strontium, zirconium, cobalt, praseodymium, and nickel for making glazed materials are no exception.
For example, the price of cobalt oxide once soared from 200,000 yuan/ton to 380,000 yuan/ton, which was ridiculed by ceramic people as the "cobalt grandma" to show off; the price of strontium carbonate also once surged nearly four times, per ton It has risen from 7,500 yuan to 28,000 yuan; the price of praseodymium oxide has also risen from 460,000 yuan/ton at the bottom to 640,000 yuan/ton.
The rise in the prices of various raw materials has led to a significant increase in the cost of making glazed materials, but it is difficult for downstream ceramic tile manufacturers to increase prices. Therefore, there is a rumor in the industry that "a sales manager was fired for taking too many orders, which caused the company to suffer serious losses." "Fired" joke.
In order to cope with the sharp increase in the prices of raw materials such as strontium, zirconium, cobalt, praseodymium and nickel for making glazed materials, many glazed material companies have adjusted their formulas this year. Some people in the industry even said that currently more than 50% of glazed materials The material has been changed from strontium to barium structure formula.
Dry crystal grains:
Promote ceramic tiles or slates to replace natural stone
Colors, glazes, and inks, collectively referred to as glazed materials, are the direct creation of various colors, textures, and concave-convex effects of ceramic tiles. From printed glaze to infiltrated glaze, from fully polished glaze to microcrystalline frit, from dry grain glaze to digital glaze and digital ink, now glazed materials have entered the digital age.
In recent years, against the backdrop of intensifying homogeneity of ceramic tiles, the demand for differentiated products has surged, which has brought dry particles and inks in glazed materials into the fast lane of development. At the 2021 Guangzhou Ceramics Industry Exhibition, the two most eye-catching trends in dry granules and inks are crystal dry granules and digital mold ink.
It is understood that in order to create a sparkling crystal effect on the surface of ceramic tiles, there are currently two main methods in the industry, one is to use water glaze, and the other is to use dry particles. Since water glaze is not transparent enough and has poor suspension performance , so dry granules are commonly used in the industry.
Since this year, many first-line ceramic tile brands have launched new product series named "Jingdiaan, Jingyao, Star Diamond", etc. Regardless of the name, their common feature is that the surface of the ceramic tiles has sparkling crystal particles.
This sparkling crystal effect comes from the innovation of glazed materials. Since different glazed material manufacturers and ceramic tile manufacturers have different names, this article will collectively refer to them as crystal dry particles.
The emergence and rise of dry crystal particles is inevitable. First, the industry has been homogenized for a long time. The sparkling crystal effect is refreshing. Moreover, due to the high cost of dry crystal particles, price access has been set.The threshold brings a window period for promotion; secondly, the industry's eternal theme of benchmarking natural stone will inevitably promote the surface effect of ceramic tiles to be infinitely closer to natural stone. Crystal dry granules solve the problem that natural crystals in stone are difficult to copy. nest.
Currently, the areas where dry crystal particles are most widely used are high-end large-size ceramic tile products, ranging from 750×1500mm to 1600×3200mm, especially in slate products. This is not only due to cost and consumption. The author's consideration of price acceptance and other aspects is also due to the sparkling crystal effect created by the dry crystal particles, which is very close to natural stone, especially natural stone that is classified as a luxury stone. Therefore, those currently vigorously promoting dry crystal granular products are powerful first-line ceramic companies.
Some people in the industry pointed out that the continued development of dry particle decoration technology, including crystal dry particles, will further promote the pace of ceramic tiles or slates replacing ordinary natural stones and natural luxury stones.
Dow Technology has a strong say in the research and development of dry crystal particles. As early as 2014, it had applied for an invention patent for "gold sand dry granules", and has since developed "first and second generation ice crystal dry granules, metal dry granules, gilt positioning technology for metal dry granules, and giant crystal dry granules". ” and other innovative dry granular products, all the above types of dry granular products have been used in batches by many well-known ceramic companies in the industry.
Take dry ice crystal particles as an example. According to Yu Shuilin, deputy general manager of Dow Technical Ceramics Division, the second generation dry ice crystal particles are thicker, shinier, purer and have less impurity spots, which can solve the problem of black spots on white bricks. And it is not easy to precipitate; after the particles are fired, the effect is transparent and white. Using ultra-coarse ice crystal dry particle positioning process, the product is closer to the ice crystal effect of natural stone; in addition, dry particle polishing and full glaze polishing, dry and wet processes can be used universally. And the usage is reduced and the cost is lower.
Li Jiadoo, a senior engineer in the ceramic industry, believes that dry-grain polishing and dry-grain decoration technology are a development direction for glazed materials. Among them, dry-grain decoration technology containing natural minerals such as zircon sand, kyanite, and mica is on the rise. , and dry granule throwing has moved towards large-scale.
Some people in the industry have also raised concerns about dry crystal particles, because the internal crystal structure of this type of product continues to split within three days after firing, which means that its stability needs to be further strengthened. However, glazed material manufacturers that have been developing dry crystal particles for a long time pointed out that they have solved the problem of unstable crystal splitting through formula adjustments.
Digital mold ink:
Increase production flexibility and make ceramic tiles concaveConvex and convex
In the past, there were two methods to create a concave and convex effect on the surface of ceramic tiles. One is achieved on the surface glaze layer of ceramic tiles by stacking or sinking glazed materials, and the other is achieved by pressing on the ceramic tile body through traditional molds.
As the specifications of ceramic tiles become larger and larger, and the thickness becomes thinner, the use of traditional molds to create the concave and convex effect of the ceramic tile body becomes more and more disadvantageous. Especially with the emergence of thin rock slabs with a thickness of 3mm and specifications up to 1600×3200mm, making a corresponding traditional mold is not only expensive and inconvenient to change production, but also causes uneven stress in the thin rock slab body, resulting in the finished rock slab being It is easy to break during deep processing.
The emergence of digital mold ink has solved the problems of traditional molds such as high cost, inconvenience in production changes, and stress on the base body. Because the ink is lightly sprayed on the base body through a nozzle, the concave and convex effect can be achieved in one go without any hassle. It will destroy the stress of the body, which makes ceramic tiles, especially rock slabs, more flexible in the control of production changes, color matching, concave and convex textures and other production links.
Zhao Xiaoping, general manager of Pansheng Technology, said that for this year’s popular digital mold products, Pansheng Technology cooperated with the Italian Smalticeram Charizard Company to launch digital mold products through the Durst water-based glaze digital glaze spray machine and Rockjet nozzle technology. The amount of glaze applied per channel is up to 1kg/m², thereby obtaining high-definition printing effects and high-quality details, and even creating concave and convex effects; two different glazes can also be used at the same time for ceramic tile surface decoration, regardless of the number of mold surfaces For example, the same brick surface can be made to present multiple effects such as bright glaze and matte glaze at the same time.
Li Jiado pointed out that digital mold ink can greatly increase the flexibility of production, making it easier to create three-dimensional effects and enriching shapes and patterns.
However, digital mold ink is difficult to produce. According to the person in charge of the Dow Technical Ink segment, the technical characteristic of Dow Technical Digital Mold Ink is that the accumulation thickness can reach 1-2mm. His company has begun to develop digital mold ink as early as 2017, and the production of this type of ink requires The selection of raw materials is more stringent, and special powder surface treatment and processing techniques must be combined, so the preparation is more difficult.
“We can produce professionally customized digital mold ink products for customers based on their production line needs.” The person in charge of Dow’s technical ink segment further introduced that “water-based ink” is the future development direction of ink, because water-based ink can Solving the problem of glaze ink separation, it can also realize inkjet printing with large ink volume, andAnd it is more environmentally friendly to use.
Why is water-based ink the future development direction? Li Jiado pointed out that this is an inevitable requirement under the trend of environmental protection. Since solvent-based ink has less than 40% solid content, 60% of the solvent will inevitably be partially volatilized during the production process. Volatile organic compounds affect the atmospheric environment, and water Water-based inks that are solvents can solve this type of pollution problem and can also significantly reduce costs.
Regarding digital mold ink, Wu Yuxin, marketing general manager of Meris, said that digital mold ink can effectively improve the product performance of rock slabs, allowing the slabs to have no white edges when cutting and chamfering, and can make high and low temperature, bright and matte Flexible combination on the same ceramic tile product.
In addition, Wu Yuxin also pointed out that the progress of inks today is reflected in purer color and higher saturation, and the stability of materials is getting better and better. Moreover, inks are not only used for ceramic tiles, but also cross-border expansion to foaming. Ceramic coating, as well as application in cement board, calcium silicate board, soft porcelain, glass and other building materials categories.
In the era of stock in the building ceramics market, ceramics companies need differentiated products to break through, and the emergence of rock slabs has promoted the high-end of glazed materials. In this era, digital mold ink emerged, which not only improves the performance of the ceramic tile products themselves, but also further improves the manufacturing process of the entire glaze line equipment. Therefore, some people in the industry said that the main research and development direction of textured rock slabs in the future is the continuous improvement of digital mold technology.
Adjust recipe:
Looking for raw material alternatives to cope with rising raw material prices
This year, the prices of raw materials in all walks of life are increasing, and the prices of raw materials such as strontium, zirconium, cobalt, praseodymium, and nickel for making glazed materials are no exception.
In order to cope with the pressure of soaring raw materials, glazed material manufacturers have carried out micro-innovations, that is, using other raw materials to replace raw materials with soaring prices.
However, in terms of raw material substitution, the formula of ink is relatively fixed and rigid, so substitution is more difficult. For example, the blue and black hair colors of cobalt are irreplaceable when making ink. Therefore, raw material substitution is mainly seen in glazes.
According to Wu Zhiquan, general manager of Foshan Jianjie Glaze Making, in glazes, the functions of strontium carbonate are fluxing and color development, and these functions are not completely irreplaceable. For example, the use of barium carbonate structural formula can also satisfy most needs through optimization. Technical requirements, in fact, more than half of the glazes have been changed from strontium to barium structure formulas; the main function of zirconium silicate is whitening, which can be achieved by selecting higher quality feldspar and earth raw materials and using high-aluminum structure formulas to reduce the amount of zirconium silicate.
The person in charge of a glazed materials company in Foshan said that of course it is impossible for barium carbonate to replace strontium carbonate in a one-to-one ratio. Instead, some materials such as frit powder need to be introduced to improve pores and increase hair color.
The person in charge admitted that since the beginning of this year, the cost of raw materials such as titanium, zinc oxide, zircon powder, and strontium carbonate for full-glaze polishing has increased significantly. However, it is impossible to completely pass on the cost of rising raw material prices to downstream ceramic companies. It doesn't work because the other party can't accept it and can only make the most basic price increase with the ceramic company, so adjusting the formula is a last resort.
Compared with the rising prices of raw materials, the reduced demand for colored glazes is also a huge challenge for glazed material manufacturers. Li Jiatuo pointed out that glazed tiles will still be the mainstream in the short term, but we must pay attention to the development direction and be prepared to deal with changes.
For example, inkjet printing can save about 20% of the amount of color materials compared to screen printing, triggering a wave of decline in demand for glaze color materials.
In addition, the amount of glaze used per square meter of ceramic tiles in the past can reach 1 kilogram. As all categories of ceramic tiles are now becoming porcelain, especially rock slabs with better porcelain performance and density, the use of glazes has increased. Protective functions such as improving strength and corrosion resistance have lost their necessity, and this is also the reason why digital glazes that can be applied accurately can rise - glaze is sprayed precisely where it is needed.
To sum up, differentiated product innovation, environmental protection requirements, rising raw material prices, and reduced demand for colored glazes have all posed new challenges to glazed materials and tested the wisdom of glazed material manufacturers in coping with the crisis... …
(Article reproduced from Ceramic Information)
