Methods for the production of building ceramics tradition and modernity
Ing. Richard Belak
Production of ceramics in Poland is a tradition and modernity.
Traditional production of building ceramics based on manual production in Poland is currently taking place mainly in areas where there is clay loess (eg. Around Kraśnika). Plants thus producing the bricks is still in Poland dozen come from the interwar period, and their most important device is a stove cord Hoffman.
Modernity is betting big, completely mechanized, largely automated, producing ceramic products in amounts of from 25 to 50 million units per year of ceramic. In the past, the so-called factories. Key were built in different regions of the Polish depending located in the area of resources’ raw materials. During years 60 and 70 formed in the Polish businesses like Lewkowo, Markowicze, Ha-dykówka, Brzostów », Kozłowice, Łajsy, Lebork etc. These bets at that time were characterized by modern preparation of the ceramic material (with an important technological role dołounika in which is homogenized converted pre-mix of ceramic raw materials) and new systems of drying and firing (introduced tunnel ovens). In Poland, it is taken the trouble of designing your own ceramic works and for this purpose established the office projects (including CERPROJEKT), and started the production of machinery and equipment for brickworks equipment. It is worth noting at this point that the so-called. socialist camp Poland held the leading position both as a designer of complex building ceramics plants and machinery and equipment manufacturer of ceramic. After 1989, the Polish foreign capital began to flow, which caused the redemption of many ceramics plants. The precursor of investment and modernization in the ceramic plants was the company Wienerberger of Austria. Purchased by its plants underwent thorough modernization, and applied new machinery and equipment and technological procedures allowed the time to start the production of large-format products ceramic materials poryzowanych. It was a novelty on the Polish plaster and as it turned out very well received by both the Quaestors and designers. Other establishments in the different economic structures also started modernization and reconstruction of raising their standard clearly technical – technological and production quality.
1. Traditional – manually – the production of bricks
Technology of production of ceramic products in brickyards seasonal or even sweat is based on the natural processing of specific raw materials (usually loess) and fully manual forming bricks and their natural drying. The technological process of manual production of ceramic materials’ construction consists of the following steps:
– Extraction and mining of raw material
– Preparation of the ground through moisturizing and rework in a vertical mixer,
– Manual formation of semi-finished products using the “sand”
– Natural drying semi-finished products, the square,
-wypalanie oven cord Hoffman burning coal.
The technological process is based on the extraction of raw materials to the loess opencast mine using bulldozers, which molds the raw material for natural homogenization tank, where at least 24-hour seasoning clay consistency plastic goes to the vertical mixer (fot.l). The agitator is a vertical cylindrical steel timber or tank in which a rotating shaft with blades arranged respectively causes homogenization of the mass in terms of both moisture content and composition. In the lower part of the cylinder bore is provided with a damper for adjusting the amount of outgoing clay, which indirectly regulates the degree of special treatment. The cylinder mixer is usually placed in the ground at half the height, and from the outlet opening is excavated down to receive the processed mass. The raw materials are put into the mixer from the top, and after receiving mixed, loaded onto a wheelbarrow and transported to the positions formierczych, under which the manual molding. The process of processing natural and primitive mechanical is therefore limited to a minimum.
Manual molding bricks to complete
Mass to manually form a uniform and have a moisture content ca. 24%. Hand molding blanks takes place by a process called on. sand on a suitable table called “strycharskim.” For molding bricks used form of single or double, made of hard wood edges upholstered steel sheet (Fig. 2). The dimensions of the forms should be adapted to skurczliwości weight, so that burnt bricks have dimensions compatible requirements. with that came to the table mass former distracts hands right amount of weight / bite /, crosses her energetic movement to form.