Ceramic Powder Granulation for Pressing Flowability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for preparing ceramic powder for pressing, such as wet and dry processes, face challenges including high energy and water consumption, equipment wear, poor flowability, and irregular tile formation, especially when producing high-quality porcelainized stoneware tiles.
Innovation Solution
A dry preparation method involving dry milling followed by controlled humidification and granulation to create 'microgranules' with specific granulometric distribution and humidity levels, allowing for efficient pressing and reduced energy costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If wet process is used to mill and mix ceramic raw materials, then fine powder with high specific surface is obtained, but high consumption of water and energy resources is required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the fundamental parameter of the milling process from wet to dry operation. By removing water from the milling process and using a pendular mill with controlled humidity (4-8%), the process achieves fine powder production without the high energy consumption associated with wet milling and atomization operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes water from the ceramic raw materials before milling. By using a pendular mill that operates with minimal moisture content, the process eliminates the need for subsequent atomization and evaporation steps, thereby removing the source of high energy consumption.
2Loss of energy
If dry milling is used to mill ceramic raw materials, then energy consumption is reduced, but the ceramic powder requires long time inside the mill to achieve comparable fineness
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces dynamic control of humidity during the milling process. By adjusting the moisture content to fall within the optimal range of 4-8%, the pendular mill achieves both reduced energy consumption and acceptable milling time. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction between energy savings and processing time.
3Ease of manufacture
If ceramic powder is humidified to enable compacting, then compacting is possible, but the humidified powder is very fine and substantially not able to flow
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the humidity parameter to a specific range (4-8%) that simultaneously enables compacting and maintains flowability. This precise parameter control resolves the contradiction by finding the optimal balance point where the powder is moist enough to compact but not so moist that it loses flow characteristics.
4Manufacturing precision
If air is removed from the forming cavity during pressing, then complete compacting is achieved, but the pressing apparatus must stop exerting pressure for deaeration intervals
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary deaeration by removing air from the forming cavity before the pressing operation begins. This preliminary action allows the pressing apparatus to maintain continuous pressure throughout the process, eliminating the need for interruption and thereby resolving the contradiction between complete compacting and pressing speed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method produces ceramic powder with improved flowability, reduced energy consumption, and enhanced mechanical strength, enabling the production of high-quality ceramic tiles with consistent dimensions and mechanical resistance, while simplifying the production process and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
wetted, if necessary, to a wetting value that is sufficient to enable compacting by pressing ceramic powder material
Implementation Method 2
dried, if necessary, to a humidity value that is suitable for pressing
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for preparing ceramic powder material to be pressed to form a ceramic tile by pressing, said ceramic powder material being obtained by dry milling of ceramic raw materials, comprises the steps of: wetting said ceramic powder material; rolling said ceramic powder material such as to obtain agglomerates of said ceramic powder material; a mechanical action being applied to said ceramic powder material during said rolling; wherein said rolling and said applying a mechanical action occur in such a manner as to control the disaggregation of at least a part of said agglomerates to obtain a desired disaggregation and limit a maximum size of granules forming from said agglomerates.