Text/Hong Xiaochun
As we all know, Nobel Ceramics is a company specializing in the research, development and production of porcelain polished tiles. From 2011, it began to lay out the field of porcelain polished tiles, and in 2020, it fully upgraded and launched the 5.0 full-body slate. Nobel has achieved amazing surpasses again and again in the practicality and decorativeness of porcelain polished tiles, and has been praised by the entire industry. Attention. Recently, China Ceramics Network had the honor to interview Yu Aimin, vice president of R&D and chief engineer of Nobel Ceramics Group, and an expert who enjoys special government allowances from the State Council. During the interview, Yu Gong fully demonstrated the powerful strength behind this legendary East China building ceramics brand with an in-depth and simple explanation. With his rich experience in the industry for many years, he pointed out the key lifeline that will affect the development of slate slabs in the future.
▲ Yu Aimin, Vice President of R&D of Nobel Ceramics Group (right), Ouyang Tiansheng, Chairman of China Ceramics Network (left) Take a group photo in Hangzhou on September 1, 2020
一
The evolution of porcelain tiles in the Five Dynasties
The evolution of Nobel Porcelain Tiles from 1.0 to 5.0 can be said to be a matter of great concern to the entire industry. What is the development history of Nobel Porcelain Tiles? What kind of strategic thinking does Nobel carry in it?
Regarding the questions raised by reporters from China Ceramics Network, Yu Gong explained the evolution of Nobel porcelain tiles in the fifth generation.
▲Introduction to Nobel Ceramics Group Technology Center. From 2003 to 2019, it has obtained more than 600 patent authorizations. Provincial level or aboveNearly 100 technical certifications
Nobel first started studying the porcelain tile polishing process in 2011. If we want to date these five stages, version 1.0 is a solid color material that uses surface porcelain technology. In order to verify the functionality of this Nobel 1.0 porcelain polished tile, we applied a pure white porcelain polished tile to a large area in the Shanghai Cadillac Automobile Showroom. At that time, the industry was in the midst of the popularity of polished tiles. Since Party A had very high requirements for the whiteness of materials, the whiteness of most polished tiles did not meet that requirement. Our porcelain polished tiles at that time did not have any patterns. Just using a pure white porcelain polished tile process met their decorative requirements, and the effect was very good. This is the first time that the functionality and decorative properties of porcelain tiles have been verified.
With the foundation of porcelain polishing 1.0, Nobel began to study digital inkjet penetration technology. In 2013, we began to launch version 2.0 of porcelain polishing tiles and passed the technology project appraisal. Digital inkjet penetration technology is combined with the first generation of porcelain surface material technology, so porcelain polishing 2.0 appeared.
With version 3.0, we define it as a breakthrough in overall technology. The first step is to improve the surface decoration, and the second step is to solve the overall problem. In 2016, we began to implement body fabric technology, while integrating the previous two core technologies - porcelain surface material and digital inkjet printing When the ink penetrates, Nobel Tile officially calls it porcelain polished tiles.
▲The brick king produced by the largest tonnage press in China
Zhang Boqing, a professor at Jingdezhen Ceramics University, wrote the following inscription:
"Building pottery to a new level, porcelain altar is a sight"
Version 4.0 is actually the Large Porcelain Polishing Tile launched in 2017. Nobel has introduced Italian System equipment, including a 44,000-ton press, which has significant capabilities in producing oversized ceramic tile products.Advantages. Therefore, we applied the previous porcelain tile polishing 3.0 process to ceramic large slabs, and 4.0 large plate porcelain tile polishing was born.
The 5.0 version launched in 2020 uses digital fabric technology to achieve a breakthrough from full body to full pattern. We call the 5.0 version a three-way system. First, the material is integrated (since the 1.0 era, porcelain tiles are completely unglazed and porcelain); the second is the color integration (the all-body fabrics in the 3.0 era have actually achieved color integration) ; Third, the texture is integrated (digital cloth in the 5.0 era achieves penetrating texture).
In response to the question raised by a reporter from China Ceramics Network on how to perfectly combine surface textures and through-textures, Yu Aimin explained: "The essential difference from all-over to all-over texture is that the 3.0 all-over fabric uses mechanical fabric. It is full-body in color, but not full-body in texture. The surface of version 5.0 of porcelain tiles is digital inkjet, and the bottom is digital fabric, realizing two digitizations; at this time, we only need to intelligently identify the design manuscript. Texture synchronization can be completed with one correspondence. It is precisely because of the combination of two digits that the realization of this three-way porcelain tile is possible. "
▲Nobel Slate 5.0 Full Body Series
Every evolution and evolution of Nobel porcelain tiles is a breakthrough in the decorative technology of building ceramic products; in the 5.0 era, the three-way technology has allowed building ceramic products to achieve the highest imitation stone manufacturing technology and effect. to a whole new level. Yu Aimin said: "I think the 5.0 version of porcelain polished tiles has great advantages in replacing stone, because the difference between stone and ceramic tiles is the texture of the material. At present, most ceramic tile production uses surface digital inkjet technology , although various stone materials can be realistically imitated, permeable textures are very difficult to achieve. ”
二
From porcelain tiles to slate
At the Tanzhou Ceramics Industry Exhibition in July this year, Nobel met with everyone for the first time as Nobel slate. In the roundtable forum of the 10th China Real Estate and Pan-Home Furnishing Cross-border Summit on August 31, the forum guests expressed different opinions on slate. In view of the current industry enthusiasm for the production of rock slab products and Nobel's own involvement in the field of rock slabs, Yu Aimin also shared his views on the "new species" of slabs.
1. Definition of rock slab
Reporter from China Ceramics Network: How do you define slate?
Yu Aimin: At present, there is actually no concept of size specifications for domestic slates. Small-sized products used for bathroom countertops are also called slates. If we only refer to large-size rock slabs (900×1800㎜ and above), Nobel can be said to be the first to launch it in China. At that time, the common name in the industry was still "big plate". Nobel had already developed and produced it in 2016, and held a "big plate porcelain brick" conference in 2017.
In fact, rock slabs still belong to the category of ceramic tiles in essence, but their application fields are wider. Therefore, now the terminal market and the general home furnishing field are accustomed to call them rock slabs. If we must use the name slate, I suggest adding a prefix called "ceramic slate". Simply calling it slate can easily lead users to misunderstand its material, whether it is made of rock or ceramics. The new species of slate is relatively controversial. If a certain name is unified, the concept of "ceramic slate" will become more popular with the promotion.
It can be seen that the birth of Nobel slate was long before version 5.0, and its predecessor was the Nobel large porcelain tile launched in 2017. So with the upgrade of the full-body 5.0 technology, let us take a look at the competitiveness of Nobel slate.
2. Competitiveness of rock slabs
Reporter from China Ceramics Network: What is the competitiveness of rock slabs?
Yu AiMin: The porcelain tile technology is traced back to unglazed tiles, and its competitive advantage in the field of rock slabs is very obvious. First, the products produced by this process are more wear-resistant, not easily scratched and impact-resistant (because there is no glass layer on the surface, the glaze will not peel off when impacted); second, its texture is closer to stone; third , the physical stability and durability of the material are better (because of the whole body of the material, the thermal expansion coefficient, rapid cooling and rapid heating of the product are superior).
In addition to the practicality of the material, Nobel slate is also extremely decorative. In order to achieve a complete color, the Nobel slate slabs are made of carefully selected high-quality raw materials during the production process, for example, to achieve some ultra-white (zirconium-free formula) effects. Coupled with the full-body and continuous-texture technology, this kind of rock slab has very good application effects in various fields. Not only that, the 6mm75° white series of Nobel slate also has a certain degree of light transmittance.
Reporter from China Ceramics Network: How is the translucent slate made? Is it related to resin-based artificial stone?
Yu Aimin: In fact, the light-transmitting slate has nothing to do with resin. It just contains more glass phases in the composition, so it shows a certain degree of translucency. This also has a lot to do with the thickness of the material itself. The thicker the thickness, the weaker the light transmittance of the rock slab.
Reporter from China Ceramics Network: Which one do you think has more development prospects, thin slate or thick slate?
Yu Aimin: I think the thickness of the rock slab still depends on the actual application area. For example, the slate for countertops must be thicker, but if it is used in cabinet door panels, it is better to be thinner. As a decorative material, slate needs to be matched with some hardware. The weight of thin slate is relatively light, which can prevent the cabinet door panel from falling and deforming after long-term use. At present, some of Nobel's 5.8mm rock slabs have begun to be widely used in cabinet doors and cabinet boards in kitchen and bathroom spaces. In the bathroom, slate has moisture-proof properties; in the kitchen, slate has fire-proof properties, so this material itself has very good development prospects.
3. The problem of homogenization of rock slabs
Reporter from China Ceramics Network: There is another question I would like to ask Yu Gong, which is the problem that currently the stone slabs have fewer designs and colors and a higher degree of homogeneity. We can see that most of the slates on the market are black and white, such as fish belly white, Lauren black gold, etc. Is this related to the limited production process?
Yu Aimin: This phenomenonThe generation mainly comes from the needs of the application side. The textures of the colors like Fish Belly White and Lauren Black Gold just mentioned are more atmospheric, and the stone itself is more expensive, so they are more popular. Coupled with the popularity of black, white and gray decorative styles in recent years, slate as a decorative material also needs to fit the application scenario. Therefore, most slate products are black, white and gray, not because the technology cannot produce other colors, but to meet market demand.
Of course, the colors of rock slabs will definitely become more abundant in the future, such as jade-like rock slabs. We all know that jade is very popular in high-end villas and mansions. At present, there are only two types of decorative materials with jade effect, one is real natural jade, and the other is resin-based artificial stone. The former is too expensive, and the latter has poor physical properties, so there are still many opportunities for rock slabs. .
三
Hidden dangers in slate may become an industry crisis
The concept of rock slabs has not been around for a long time in China, and most people are still not very familiar with this material. Applying a piece of rock slab to space requires multiple links such as material distributors, designers, and processors. Deep processing has become the number one problem in the development of rock slabs.
▲Tea tray made of Nobel slate
In this regard, Yu Aimin believes:The problem of rock slab processing needs to be solved from two aspects. One is front-end production to improve the processing performance of the material, and the other is education on back-end processing applications and improving standards.
He further explained: Every piece of rock slab needs to go through the processing process, so the processing performance requirements of the material will be relatively high, which means that as a manufacturer, you need to consider the entire process, formula, and firing system. Make some adjustments, the key to which is stress relief. The formation of internal stress in ceramic tile products is related to the entire production process.
1. Formula aspect: The greater the expansion coefficient of the raw material, the greater the stress (the uneven temperature during the ceramic tile firing process causes the stress to increase with the expansion coefficient).
2. Size: The larger the product specification, the greater the stress (the stress increases in proportion to the product size).
3. Molding aspect: Density uniformity during the molding process is very critical (if there is a large difference in density after the rock plate is pressed and molded, After sintering is completed, some places will be dense and some places will be loose. During the cutting process, the resistance encountered by the tool will be different, making it difficult to maintain stability. At this time, the rock slab will be easily cut, cracked, and damaged; the density of the product will be uniform during molding. The performance is not only related to the press used, but also to the control of the fabric, the fluidity of the powder and the particle gradation, etc. Every detail requires special attention).
4. Firing aspect: Slowing down the firing cycle can effectively release the stress of the rock slab (especially the cooling system cannot be too rapid) , the slower the cooling zone, the better. Current kilns will add multiple sets of burners in the cooling zone, on the one hand to strengthen temperature control, and on the other hand to use hot air cooling to ensure that the rock slab has enough time to release stress) .
The cutting and processing of rock slabs is an all-round matter. It is closely related to every detail of the early production, as well as whether the tools used in subsequent processing are sharp, whether the processing technology is standardized, whether the processing table is level, etc., and is not determined by It can be completely solved in a certain link. So in addition to improving the production side, we also need to educate the application side. Every material has its own characteristics, and the cutting tools and methods must match the material. I believe that as time goes by, the market will know more about the material of slate. And now more and more professional processing equipment have gradually appeared, so the processing aspect is also improving.
No one can guarantee that "the rock slab will not crack no matter how you cut it" Like Nobel, they have a very precise set of inspection standards from raw materials to finished products, and they also have all-round control over firing. However, after each batch of Nobel slate is released, it still needs to be drilled, bridged, etc. Experiments in cutting processing. It is understood that Nobel's research on plate processing performance and deep processing technology has been accumulated for many years. In 2017, this technology was recognized as an internationally advanced level. It can be seen that Nobel already has its own set of methods to improve the processing performance of rock slabs on the production side. However, the current technology of various rock slab manufacturersTechnical strength is still uneven, and entrepreneurs’ understanding of production and R&D cannot reach the same level.
▲Professor from China Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Porcelain Tile (Plate) Research Center Card Ceremony
In view of various reasons, industry associations have joined hands with leading companies to establish a rock slab research center, which plays a positive role in the development of rock slabs. As early as December 2017, the China Building and Sanitary Ceramics Industry Porcelain Tile (Plate) Research Center settled in Nobel. To this day, the research center has been committed to guiding and regulating the industry with the right enthusiasm. Yu Aimin said, "In the future, the standards of slate need to be subdivided into application fields. The original wall and floor tiles had a set of standards, but as the application scenarios of the materials change, they should be based on different application levels. to classify and develop more specific and detailed standards.”
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Yu Aimin emphasized, “What I am most worried about now is that there are so many new slate production lines in the industry. Although the scale has increased, manufacturers have not prioritized improving product processing performance. Assuming that most of them are still Producing slate according to the original thinking and model of producing ceramic tiles will easily lead to a bad reputation of slate. Once the fear of "everything about slate will crack" is formed in the minds of consumers, no matter how good the slate is. People dare to use it. You must know that slate has gradually been de-branded from ceramic tiles to slabs. By then, the hidden dangers of slate processing will eventually become a crisis for the entire industry."
If manufacturers only know that slate is popular but do not know the pain points and hidden dangers of slate, their thinking and behavior will still stay at the stage of making ceramic tiles. Not only will the company itself be unable to succeed, but it will also make the entire industry bear the responsibility. This kind of bad reviews that "all rock slabs will crack" will also destroy the huge incremental market of rock slabs. Here, we jointly call on:Stone slab manufacturers should not pursue low costs excessively, but should pay attention to research and development to improve product processing performance, and jointly protect their reputation in the market. Let the blue ocean become a barrier lake!
Author: Hong Xiaochun
