SanTonSanitaryware

casting clays

Blended clays engineered for improved casting speed

Engineered performance for modern sanitaryware manufacturingThe SanTonTM range of plastic clays (ball clays) are carefully selected, engineered mineral products designed to give the user improved casting speeds and rheological stability in sanitaryware casting applications.

The SanTonTM range of plastic clays (ball clays) are fully blended, engineered mineral products combining clays from various well known European sanitaryware plastic clay deposits. The systematic composition of mineralogy and colloidal carbon provides excellent rheological properties with regard to long term stability of casting slips for the production of high quality sanitary ware.

Key Features of the SanTonTM range include:

• low residues & low coarse organic lignite• improved rheological stability and constant fluidity• low soluble salts• good filtration properties & casting rate• broad vitrification range combined with high material strength when in the vitreous formulation

SanTonTM 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

SanTon Standard

SanTon L

SanTon FT-S

SanTon 172

SanTon Roco SV

SanTon FFC

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

Property unitSanTon

StandardSanTon

LSanTon

FT-SSanTon

172SanTon Roco SV

SanTon FFC

SiO2

Mass % 56.3 60.3 65.4 63.3 64.6 67.5

Al2O

3Mass % 28.4 25.9 23.0 23.3 23.0 20.9

Fe2O

3Mass % 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

TiO2

Mass % 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.6 1.8 1.6

K2O Mass % 2.1 1.9 2.6 2.4 1.8 0.9

Loss on Ignition % 10.1 9.0 6.6 7.6 7.3 6.5

Modulus of Rupture (dried 110°C) Mpa 6.2 6.4 5.0 6.4 5.3 5.8

Residue > 63µm % greater 3.0 3.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 9.0

Particle size @ 2µm % finer 68 57 62 64 60 55

SanTonTM plastic clays are engineered to improve sanitaryware casting performance

The inclusion of SanTonTM Standard in a traditional vitreous formulation (Figure 1) shows several casting benefits, making SanTonTM ideally suited to increase manufacturing casting speeds:

• lower deflocculation demand• 20% increase in casting rate for a 10% drop in body strength

Figure 1: Casting Performance of SanTonTM vs typical UK plastic clay (formulation 25% plastic clay, 25% kaolin, 18% flux (Spectrum45) and 32% Silica (Cerasil 53)

Standard RecipeSanTonTM Standard

Casting rate (mm/hr) 9.5 11.4

Deflocculant demand (%) 0.23 0.17

Body strength - dry (MPa) 3.2 2.9

Bulk density - dry (g/cm-3) 1.76 1.74

The SanTonTM range of products offer improved cast stability against locally available sanitaryware casting clays:

A systematic composition of mineralogy and colloidal carbon provides excellent rheological properties with long term stability of casting slips. Using advanced rheological techniques these clays have been designed for improved cast stability and by utilizing our understanding of mineralogy the blends are engineered for optimum sanitaryware performance.

A unique characteristic of SanTon products is their fluidity at high density, unlike typical central European clays they maintain stable viscosity under varying shear conditions. Figure 3 shows a stable viscosity profile for a typical SanTon product over a range of shear rate conditions, this means that when included in a body formulation SanTon can assist with good fluid casting slips and improve cast drainage minimising casting defects.

Figure 3: Rheology profile of a typical SanTon product: Measured on a rheometer using a slip@ 1.73 kg/l

With such a wide range of SanTonTM products their particle size distribution availability ensures there’s a product for all sanitaryware manufacturing methods.

Casting properties have been harmonised to similar density, fluidity and thixotropy.

Stress Viscosity

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