Ways to distinguish porcelain slabs from marble slabs
Both porcelain slabs and slabs are products that have been a big hit in recent years. Both products have more formal names: ceramic porcelain slabs and ceramic slabs. Because both belong to the category of ceramic products, the two products are often confused. In order to clearly distinguish and define them, the industry, enterprises and experts and scholars have spent a lot of effort.
In fact, both slabs and porcelain slabs originate from abroad. According to the latest statistics, more than 138 porcelain slab production lines have been ignited and put into operation in China. As China has become the country with the world's largest production capacity and relatively mature production process, the standards for porcelain slate products in China have gradually surfaced. At present, two group standards and two association standards have been drafted in the field of domestic porcelain slabs, but due to the absence of national standards, it is still inconclusive as to which standard the enterprises should follow and who should supervise them. Therefore, the definitions of porcelain slabs and Osaka are still debated. Today, Taoist will talk about how to distinguish between porcelain slabs and slabs.
How to distinguish porcelain slabs and slabs by "production material"?
When people still maintain a sense of mystery about this product, someone came forward to define porcelain slabs as "SINTERED STONE" (translated as sintered dense stone), so that the results of the ceramic field was robbed by the stone industry for no reason, it was laughable. Subsequently, this "stone as the main raw material" explanation was also denied by the porcelain slab manufacturers. In fact, the raw materials for the production of porcelain slabs are similar to those of large slabs, with the three main raw materials being clay, feldspar and quartz.
However, there is not no difference in the raw materials of porcelain slabs and Osaka. In order to meet the physical properties of porcelain slabs, manufacturers may optimize the ratio of raw materials, such as the fluidity of powder, particle gradation, and expansion coefficient, etc. In order to meet the decorative properties of porcelain slabs, the screening of color glaze materials will also be more stringent than that of large slabs. However, due to the different production mode of each manufacturer, it is not possible to distinguish porcelain slabs from slabs by the detailed raw material formula.
What is the "production process" to distinguish between slabs and slabs?
Since we can't distinguish them by raw materials, can we distinguish them by production process? So many people began to think that the fundamental difference between porcelain slabs and traditional tiles and even slabs is the tonnage of the press and firing temperature. But in fact, in the ceramic industry using more than 10,000 tonnage, more than 1200 ℃ high temperature to produce large-size tile products are also very many companies, in such conditions produced under the big board as well as will not be called porcelain board.
On the other hand, there will be some differences between the production process of porcelain slabs and large slabs. In order to meet the wide range of applications of porcelain slabs, manufacturers will use more advanced fabric technology and molding equipment, as well as by slowing down the firing cycle and extending the cooling time to eliminate the stress of porcelain slabs and reduce the breakage during processing. Although there are differences in the production process between slabs and slabs, there is no clear line of demarcation.
What is the "size" to distinguish between slabs and slabs?
Some people think that large slabs include large-size products of 900×1800mm, 1200×2400mm, 1600×3600mm, and also include mainstream products of 750×1500mm and 600×1200mm below 900×1800mm, while porcelain slabs do not include products below 900×1800mm.
In fact, porcelain slabs and large slabs cannot be distinguished by size. Large slabs are literally understood to be necessarily large-size products; while porcelain slabs are sized to meet the application of various spaces and areas. Today's porcelain slab manufacturers are concerned with flexible customization, and the introduction of Sacmi continuous forming equipment has boosted their on-demand scheduling, greatly reducing the waste caused when processing and cutting. As you can see, while large slabs have clear specifications on size, porcelain slabs are more flexible.
Distinguish porcelain slabs and slabs by their "thickness"?
In November 2009 the implementation of the national standard GB / T 23266-2009 "ceramic plate", the definition of ceramic plate is: specifications ≧ 900mm × 1800mm, thickness ≦ 6.0mm, water absorption rate ≦ 0.5%. In November 2020 released the national standard GB/T 39156-2020 "large-size ceramic plate technical requirements and test methods", the definition of ceramic large plate is the area > 1.62 square meters of ceramic tile, thickness > 6.0mm, water absorption E ≦ 0.5%. Comparison of these two standards is not difficult to find, the distinction between ceramic slabs and ceramic slabs in the national standard is in the thickness.
So ceramic porcelain slabs and ceramic slabs, ceramic slabs can be distinguished by thin and thick? The answer is no. At present, 2.5㎜ ultra-thin porcelain board and 20㎜ ultra-thick porcelain board are in mass production, and the application of some decorative panels needs the thin and light characteristics of ultra-thin porcelain board, while the application of some countertop panels needs the solid and stable characteristics of ultra-thick porcelain board. Therefore, there is no difference between thin and thick porcelain slabs, and we naturally cannot distinguish porcelain slabs and large slabs by thinness.
What is the "finish" to distinguish porcelain slabs from slabs?
Some people think that glazed slabs are slabs, and those with a solid body are slabs. In fact, this statement is not entirely accurate. Whether porcelain or tile, most ceramic products still exist glaze and blank layer, but the cross-section of the slab can clearly see the glaze and blank bottom of the layered, and porcelain plate is through the digital fabric and other technologies to make the glaze and blank bottom color, texture, material is similar, looks close to the body. So this method of differentiation is only suitable for a more cursory observation.
There are also people who think: glossy is a large slab and matte is a porcelain slab. This statement is even more incorrect. The glossiness of the surface of the building ceramic products is mainly to serve the application scope of the product, most of the porcelain plate in order to restore the surface texture of the porcelain, mostly matte; most of the Osaka in order to space applications more high-end atmosphere upscale, most of the glossy surface is the main. However, this can only be said to be a popular trend and not an absolute discriminatory standard. Large slabs can also have a matte finish and porcelain slabs can also have a glossy finish. In summary, there is no distinction between porcelain and slab finishes.
What is the "application area" to distinguish between slabs and slabs?
As we all know, large slabs are mainly used in the building decoration of walls and floors, while the application area of porcelain slabs is more extensive, not only for walls and floors like large slabs, but also for home countertops, furniture panels, electrical panels and even building facades. The wide range of applications means that porcelain slabs have to stand up to the test of cutting, drilling and grinding, which in another way forces them to have better overall performance than large slabs.
porcelainboard has many new material properties such as low water absorption, scratch resistance, stain resistance, bending resistance, impact resistance, fire resistance, antibacterial, corrosion resistance, food grade surface, etc. In addition to this, it also involves a number of indicators such as Mohs hardness, fracture mode, expansion coefficient, anti-slip coefficient, anti-skid coefficient, etc., and the most critical of these is the machinability.
