Ceramic Industry articles from December 2003

Ceramic Industry archives from December 2003

Staying true.(Inside CI)
December 1, 2003... Truing ultra-thin diamond blades to their original cross-sectional shape is a crucial step in achieving repeatable and precise part geometries in diamond sawing processes. If a blade is misaligned or "out of round," it can cause severe...

International calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... JANUARY 2004 22-24 Construction Final Touch Expo, Greater Fort Lauderdale, Broward County Convention Center, (954) 888-9454, fax (954) 888-9459, e-mail info@confex-us.com, www.onfex-us.com * 25-30 28th Annual International Conference &...

CerMA enjoys successful fall activities.(Ceramics In The News)(Ceramic Manufacturers Association )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Ceramic Manufacturers Association (CerMA) recently sponsored two events that brought together many industry professionals for education and fun. The Fall Conference, which featured technical papers highlighting Glazing and Surface Defects,...

GMIC's Brown wins 2003 Phoenix Award.(Ceramics In The News)(John T. Brown, Glass Manufacturing Industry Council)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... This year's Phoenix Award has been presented to John T. Brown, current technical director for the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council (GMIC) and a respected engineer, inventor and manager who worked for Corning, Inc. for almost 40 years. The...

Perl Pigments new distributor for Zinc Nacional.(Ceramics In The News)
December 1, 2003... As a newly named authorized manufacturers' representative for Zinc Nacional, S.A. of Monterrey, Mexico, Perl Pigments, LLC specializes in the distribution of zinc and other metallic pigments for the paint and coatings, ceramic, rubber,...

CoorsTek expands Korean facility.(Ceramics In The News)
December 1, 2003... CoorsTek recently opened a new 8900-square-foot building addition to its Gumi City, Korea, facility, which gives CoorsTek Korea a total of more than 20,000 square feet (1858 square meters) of manufacturing space. The expansion is intended to...

Imerys announces price increases.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Imerys recently announced that the prices of its clay products for the ceramic markets in Europe will increase, effective January 1, 2004. The amount of the change will vary by product, with increases of between 3% and 10% in most instances....

H.C. Starck and Webasto to jointly develop SOFC stacks.(Ceramics In The News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... H.C. Starck GmbH and Webasto Thermosysteme GmbH have signed an agreement to jointly develop solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks, focusing on the development of high-temperature SOFCs for automotive applications. The partners plan to establish a...

Court rules against Grace in environmental lawsuit.(Ceramics In The News)(W.R. Grace & Co.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... W.R. Grace & Co. recently announced that the U.S. District Court of Montana has ruled in favor of the United States in the government's lawsuit against Grace for recovery of cleanup costs related to previously operated vermiculite mining and...

Camfil Farr opens expanded facility.(Ceramics In The News)
December 1, 2003... Camfil Farr has opened a new 130,000-square-foot facility in Washington, N.C., for the manufacture of filter containment systems. Four times the size of the former plant, the facility includes expanded space for research and development...

Dow Corning announces formation of semiconductor business.(Ceramics In The News)(Dow Corning Compound Semiconductor Solutions)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Dow Corning Corp. recently announced the formation of a new business serving the wide band gap semiconductor industry. The business is founded on expertise developed from years of in-house and academic research investments, plus the recent...

Proposition 65 review.
December 1, 2003... California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) requires consumer warnings if a product contains one of a wide variety of chemicals, including lead and cadmium. Warnings can be posted using stick-on labels,...

Fitting the pieces together.(Glass At A Glance)
December 1, 2003... In my last column (CI August 2003), I introduced three new research projects that are under way in a cooperative effort between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. glass industry: a submerged combustion melter (SCM), a high intensity...

A strong bond: high-performance adhesives from Reltek are helping component manufacturers successfully bond and seal a range of dissimilar materials for use in harsh environments.(Investing In Ceramics)
December 1, 2003... Ten years ago, if you needed to bond a ceramic or glass material to a metal or polymer, you were largely out of luck. In most cases, either the adhesives themselves would fail or they would fracture the ceramic or glass. And if by some chance...

On-Line truing: using a a slicing machine with on-line truing capabilities can help increase machining efficiency while ensuring repeatable, price part geometries.
December 1, 2003... Truing ultra-thin diamond blades to their original cross-sectional shape is a crucial step in achieving repeatable and precise part geometries in diamond sawing processes. An important aspect of truing is eliminating the effect of the diamond...

Ceramitec 2003: draws large international crowd: exhibitors and visitors from more than 40 countries met and mingled at this year's "global" ceramic fair.
December 1, 2003... More than 25,000 visitors and 700 exhibitors gathered for ceramitec 2003, which was held September 16-20, 2003, in Munich, Germany. While the total number of overall visitors declined by about 10% compared to ceramitec 2000, more than 60% of...

Experimenting with color: by using reliable base glazes and establishing standard testing procedures, you can maximize your time and results when mixing glaze colors.
December 1, 2003... At some point, every potter considers expanding his or her palette of glaze colors. Even today's most reliable, exciting colors can become boring and static tomorrow. In some cases, a color change is dictated by a decline in sales--maybe the...

Drying & firing: questions & answers.(Pottery Production Practices)
December 1, 2003... Q What is a firing cycle, and how I can I use it to improve my products? A The term "firing cycle" can refer to the time required to heat and cool ceramic products in a kiln, or it can specifically refer to the time vs. temperature curve...

Controlling your kiln digitally: understanding how digital controllers operate can help you harness all of their capabilities to optimize your firing process.(Pottery Production Practices)
December 1, 2003... Digital kiln controllers have developed rapidly over the last 12 years from basic, featureless keypads to highly accurate and efficient tools that can help potters create magnificent effects on their pieces. While digital controllers are...

Mixing mold-making materials: a basic understanding of the tools and processes used to mix mold-making materials can help you develop durable molds with a long lifespan.(Pottery Production Practices)
December 1, 2003... If you slip cast your products, you probably also make your own molds, or have at least considered doing so at some point. Making your own molds gives you the flexibility to quickly change your product line to take advantage of market trends or...

Colors that sell: knowing what colors will be popular over the next several years can help you develop more successful products.(Pottery Production Practices)
December 1, 2003... For many pottery producers, the Christmas season is the most important time of year for sales. New product lines were developed months ago and displayed prominently at art shows and gift fairs to generate interest, and you and your assistants...