Smart coding sanitaryware
An advanced high temperature barcoding system that can be easily
applied to sanitaryware could significantly reduce manufacturing waste,
says ceramic manufacturer Xerital Ltd, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
The technology, which is uniquely numbered, can follow each piece of sanitaryware individually through the production process. This ability could help identify typical problems that occur in operations, raw material levels, stage in production and production parameters, eliminating errors.
The approach, which has been widely used industrially for identification purposes, has existed for some time in the ceramics field, yet ease of integration and durability of barcodes within production flows has been an area of concern.
Xerital and technology partners SRC claim the system can be easily applied to the ceramic product by a waterslide transfer of a high temperature black ceramic pigment to the greenware after demoulding. The barcode transfer is then applied to the clay surface with the help of a bonding solution and fired onto the surface of the ware.
Company Director Howard Quinn, who insists that no other coding method in
ceramics has provided this level of identification, states, ‘The barcodes have the same lifetime as the ware, with no signs of adversity in tests on accuracy
or readability’.
The system, which only monitors the piece during manufacturing, is stable to 1,250ºC meeting ceramic heat processing temperatures. This, combined with a specialised printing technology, creates sequential ceramic barcodes that retain their strong black colour after firing – a critical factor in ensuring inform-ation integrity and readability.
Ceramic Specialist, Barry Lye has concerns about the barcodes heat properties he says, ‘The glaze firing temperature of up to 1,250ºC is normal for once-fired vitreous sanitaryware but temperature suitability depends upon the body and glaze composition and their firing/maturing temperature.
‘Nevertheless, the barcode system will be useful in tracking the ware through processing. It will also be useful in assessing and improving the best yield and quality aspects of the product’.Clay Technology Magazine, 16 Apr 2010
The technology, which is uniquely numbered, can follow each piece of sanitaryware individually through the production process. This ability could help identify typical problems that occur in operations, raw material levels, stage in production and production parameters, eliminating errors.
The approach, which has been widely used industrially for identification purposes, has existed for some time in the ceramics field, yet ease of integration and durability of barcodes within production flows has been an area of concern.
Xerital and technology partners SRC claim the system can be easily applied to the ceramic product by a waterslide transfer of a high temperature black ceramic pigment to the greenware after demoulding. The barcode transfer is then applied to the clay surface with the help of a bonding solution and fired onto the surface of the ware.
Company Director Howard Quinn, who insists that no other coding method in
ceramics has provided this level of identification, states, ‘The barcodes have the same lifetime as the ware, with no signs of adversity in tests on accuracy
or readability’.
The system, which only monitors the piece during manufacturing, is stable to 1,250ºC meeting ceramic heat processing temperatures. This, combined with a specialised printing technology, creates sequential ceramic barcodes that retain their strong black colour after firing – a critical factor in ensuring inform-ation integrity and readability.
Ceramic Specialist, Barry Lye has concerns about the barcodes heat properties he says, ‘The glaze firing temperature of up to 1,250ºC is normal for once-fired vitreous sanitaryware but temperature suitability depends upon the body and glaze composition and their firing/maturing temperature.
‘Nevertheless, the barcode system will be useful in tracking the ware through processing. It will also be useful in assessing and improving the best yield and quality aspects of the product’.Clay Technology Magazine, 16 Apr 2010
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