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SanBlend refined casting clays

Date post: 11-Jul-2015
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SanBlend Sanitaryware casting clays Refined plastic clays for optimum casting performance
Transcript
Page 1: SanBlend refined casting clays

SanBlendSanitaryware

casting clays

Refined plastic clays for optimum casting performance

Page 2: SanBlend refined casting clays

“Premium casting performance for modern sanitaryware manufacturing”

The SanBlendTM range of plastic clays (ball clays) are carefully selected, engineered mineral products designed to give the users the “ultimate” in superior casting performance in sanitaryware casting applications.

The SanBlendTM products are fully refined, engineered mineral products designed to give optimum performance to sanitaryware casting applications. Their unique combination of particle size distribution, mineralogy and colloidal carbon has been carefully blended to provide enhanced rheological properties, greater casting stability and consistency.

Their compact “noodle” form makes handling and processing easier and combined with virtually no residue they generate minimal waste during processing.

Key Features of the SanBlendTM range include:

• Very high strengths & plasticity• Stable slip rheology• Low residues• Easy dispersion

SanBlendTM plastic clays are ideally suited as the sole clay in a formulation or can be used to improve performance of local clays.

Recommended Applications:

Recommended Sanitaryware Applications

Product General Purpose Fast Casting Pressure Casting Fine Fire Clay

SanBlend 75

SanBlend 90

SanBlend SV

SanBlend GC

Unlike traditional western European sanitaryware clays they have superior casting properties which impart:

Improved Casting Properties = Refined clays offer enhanced rheological properties, greater stability and consistency leading to improved production efficiencies with the potential for greater yields.

Easier handling = Refined clays require minimal blunging or screening prior to the addition of other body materials.Compatibility with local clays = the performance of local clays is often enhanced through the addition of a refined clay.

End Customer Processing Reduced transportation and waste disposal costs; with low moisture content and virtuallyCost Reduction = no residue means significant savings on transportation and lower waste disposal costs.

Reduced energy and maintenance costs; Refined clays have been pre-dispersed, making re-dispersion at the factory relatively easy with a far lower power demand. Wear and tear on motors, impellers, pumps and other process equipment is also reduced.

Lower deflocculant requirement; Refined clays are pre deflocculated this means that the manufacturer adds less deflocculant (only a relatively small amount) during the body preparation process meaning lower chemical costs.

Chemical And Analytical Data – Typical values which do not represent a specification

Property unit 75 90 SV GC

SiO2

Mass % 54.1 57.6 54.9 63.8

Al2O

3Mass % 28.8 26.8 28.8 23.7

Fe2O

3Mass % 1.1 1.0 1.4 0.9

TiO2

Mass % 1.2 1.3 1.1 1.5

K2O Mass % 2.3 2.2 2.0 1.9

Loss on Ignition % 12.1 10.2 11.2 7.5

Modulus of Rupture (dried 110°C) Mpa 7.9 8.7 6.2 6.2

Residue > 125µm % greater 0.10 0.10 0.15 0.10

Particle size @ 2µm % finer 77 74 66 66

Page 3: SanBlend refined casting clays

The SanBlendTM range of products offer superior casting performance significant advantages against locally available sanitaryware casting clays:Figure1 shows an example of the improved product consistency achieved by using a refined product, not only through better control of the product, but due to the semi-continuous nature of the production method, batch to batch consistency is also improved. Thus as an end user the slip control becomes less demanding and body performance is more predictable.

Figure 1: Comparison of ‘batch to batch’ variation between a competitor clay and SanBlend Using 2 µm Particle Size

Casting Performance ImprovementBy utilising the Sibelco Sanitaryware Application Laboratory a standard customers recipe can be fully analysed and recommendations made to required formulation and processing changes to maximise factory productivity or yield. In this example the “local recipe” was found to have no noticeable casting rate or strength differences to the SanBlend recipe. However, after applying advanced rheological and particle size techniques it is feasible to engineer the SanBlend recipe to have an improved particle size distribution to maximise casting performance and plasticity. One main benefit in this example is the improved rheology (density/ fluidity) and body packing (bulk density/ particle size distribution) of the casting body.

Local Recipe SanBlend Recipe

Kaolin 24 24

Plastic Clay (Local) 32 22

SanBlend 90 0 10

Silica 18 18

Feldspar (Sodium) 26 26

Casting Slip Properties: Local Recipe SanBlend Recipe

Density (g/litre) 1800 1820

Fluidity (Overswing) 300 305

Thixotropy (5min) 45 90

Casting Rate (mm/hr) 7.0 7.0

Carbon (%) 0.25 0.30

Bulk Density (raw g/cc) 1.74 1.79

By altering the “body packing” an improved particle size distribution can be achieved, this gave observed improvements in factory yield by reducing casting cracks and particle orientation defects. This can be principally attributed to:

• Increased carbon which assists with rheology stabilisation and plasticity improvement

• Modified particle size distribution to achieve the same casting rate but with improved rheology

Reduced cast moisture content & higher raw bulk density which improves drying and reduces clay cracks.

Higher cast density and thixotropy than the standard recipe which can assist with reduced particle orientation and related casting faults

Note: Trial data is based on comparisons of SanBlend 90 to a combination of local plastic clays used in a vitreous china casting formulation.

Figure 2: Comparison of a “local” raw material sourced body formulation with an optimum addition of SanBlend

Figure 3: Comparison of a “local” raw material sourced body formulation with an optimum addition of SanBlend to modify particle size distribution and body packing

Particle size distribution

Volu

me

(%)

SanBlend Body Formulation Local Body Formulation

Page 4: SanBlend refined casting clays

www.sibelcoceramics.come-mail: [email protected]

over 220 production sitesin more than 40 countries


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