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Ceramic Production

Firing to Create Porcelain and China Pieces

Kilns create an amazing transformation with clay, and they turn a dark and heavy substance into an entirely new material. The composition of the original...

Ceramic Production

Avoiding Damage in the Kiln

No matter the style of ceramic being fired, potters know that a piece must first survive being fired in a kiln to be decorated. Damage...

Ceramic Production

The Ceramic Manufacturing and Decorating Process

In most processes, such as plastics manufacturing, material is produced and then formed into the final product. Making ceramics is a process wherein the form...

Ceramic Production

Kilns Need Both Temperature and Time

The high temperatures achieved by kilns bake clay pieces into ceramics. Part of that process is ensuring the clay pieces absorb enough of the heat...

Ceramic Production

The Basic Working of a Pottery Kiln

Pottery kilns are more or less ovens for heating clay and ceramic pottery. They function much the same as the oven in a home kitchen....

Once a clay piece has been molded into the desired shape, it is allowed to dry and harden. At this point it is still considered a piece of clay. It will not be a ceramic piece until it is fired to a temperature of at least 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. This is because the material must go through a transformation in the heating process that turns clay into ceramic. This is accomplished by heating the piece until the clay begins to turn into glass. Once this occurs, the glass and clay melt together and begin to form ceramic crystals. Once the ceramic crystals have formed, the piece then becomes ceramic pottery.