Xin xiang Ceramic Mug Manufacturer, in the production process of ceramic mugs, the raw materials go through the practice of mud, pressure molding, drying and trimming, vegetal firing and so on. Among them, the molding process, Xinxiang ceramic mug manufacturer in the previous introduction, how to carry out the mold, as well as precautions. One of the important parts - mold, in the production process plays a role in ensuring the consistency of the ceramic mug. It can control the height and diameter of the ceramic mug error of no more than 0.5mm, the weight error of no more than 5g. I want to give you a detailed explanation today, the ceramic mug mold is what, according to the material of different molds are divided into several categories, a variety of molds, the advantages and disadvantages. 1.

1. mold material selection and comparison of advantages and disadvantages

1.1. plaster mold
Gypsum molds are made of high-strength gypsum powder as raw material. Its water absorption rate is the strongest among all kinds of material molds, which can reach 35%-45%. Because it is made of gypsum powder, gypsum molds have the advantage that it is easy to carve details, good at making ceramic mugs with more complicated shapes, or ceramic mugs made of relief, and another advantage of gypsum molds is that they are inexpensive. Of course, plaster molds also have its disadvantages: shorter service life (about 500-1000 times), easy to deform after absorbing water, and need to be replaced frequently. Gypsum molds are more suitable for the production of small batch of ceramic mugs, especially the production of complex shapes that need to be injection molded.

1.2 Resin reinforced plaster mold
Resin reinforced gypsum mold is a composite material mold formed by mixing epoxy resin and other polymer materials into the gypsum matrix, which is essentially a reinforced version of the ordinary gypsum molds, and is specially developed for solving the problems of low strength and short service life of traditional gypsum molds. The water absorption rate of resin plaster mold is 25%-30%, which enhances the strength by 2-3 times than the simple plaster mold. The service life of resin plaster mold is more than simple plaster mold, it can reach 3000-5000 times, its abrasion resistance is improved a lot, not only can be used for grout molding, but also, resin plaster mold can be pressed billet molding. The disadvantage of resin plaster mold is that the production cost is about 4 times higher than pure plaster mold, and the vent holes are easy to be blocked. Resin plaster molds are more suitable for ceramic mugs with medium single volume of press blanks or grouting.

1.3 Metal molds
Metal molds are most commonly used in press-flat molding because of the characteristics of its material, hard and wear-resistant. Therefore, metal molds are mostly used in the production of large-volume ceramic mugs, and a steel mold can be used more than 100,000 times. Metal molds are commonly available in two materials: steel molds and aluminum alloy molds. Steel molds are harder and more wear-resistant, so its service life can be more than 100,000 times, because of the high hardness so the ceramic mug made within 0.1mm error. In other words, the consistency of ceramic mugs made by steel molds is the best. Of course, the steel mold also has its shortcomings, its price is the highest, can reach 15000RMB, the production of mold time is the longest. Aluminum alloy mold it's hardness is not as high as steel mold, but it has high thermal conductivity. Therefore, it is more suitable for the production of lightweight ceramic mugs (e.g. bone china mugs, reinforced ceramic mugs), which need to be demolded quickly. Aluminum alloy molds are lighter, a little cheaper, and more convenient when replacing molds. The disadvantage of aluminum alloy mold is that its service life is only 50,000 times or more, the precision is not as high as steel molds.

1.4 Silicone mold
Silicone molds in the ceramic mug production process is rarely used, mostly have special requirements of the limited edition ceramic mug production. Its material leads to a very short service life, about 50-100 times, but the production cost is high. Its advantage is that it can handle the complex shape of ceramic mugs, and be able to imprint tiny designs on ceramic mugs.

2. Core elements of mold design

2.1 Mold parting line design
- Position:
- Hidden positions such as the connection between the handle of the mug and the body of the mug, the inside of the mouth of the mug, etc., to avoid affecting the appearance.
- Structure:
- Mostly use 2-3 pieces of mold combination, to ensure smooth demolding (complex shapes can be increased to 4 pieces).

2.2 Air venting system
- Distribution of air holes:
- Air holes with a diameter of 1-2mm (at least 1 per 10cm²) are provided at the top of the mold to exhaust the air during the grouting/pressing process.
- Air venting slots:
- Carve a 0.5mm deep groove at the edge of the parting line to prevent the lack of material at the edge of the blank.

2.3. De-molding slope
- Angle requirement:
- Design 1°-3° slope on vertical side (e.g. inside of mug) to reduce demolding resistance.
- Special treatment:
- Special treatment: Increase the slope to 3°-5° for recessed areas such as handles.

2.4. Shrinkage compensation
- Size enlargement:
- Enlarge the size of the mold according to the shrinkage rate of the clay (usually 8%-12%), for example, the height of the finished mug is 10cm → the mold is designed for 10.8-11.2cm.

3. Mold installation and use

3.1 Die Installation
When installing the mold on the press, firstly bolt the lower mold to the table of the press, then connect the upper mold with the punch of the machine. After the installation is completed, to test the coaxiality of the upper and lower molds, which is less than 0.1mm, if the coaxiality is not well adjusted, the ceramic mug is inferior. After fixing the mold should be carried out pressure debugging, no-load situation, the upper mold and the lower mold closing gap should be controlled within 0.05mm, the pressure of the hydraulic system in 5-10MPa. next, it is to cast the material for the test, to see whether the ceramic mug billet is qualified, to facilitate the later formal production.

3.2 Precautions for use
The mold should be soaked in water for 2 minutes before use, to improve the water absorption of the mold, to prevent the first batch of ceramic mugs due to excessive water loss resulting in size reduction or cracks. After every 50 uses, the molds should be cleaned to clean the clay involved. At the end of each day, the molds should be coated with a release agent (such as silicone oil emulsion) to maintain the molds. Every 5 days, the chrome coating on the inside of the mold is to be cleaned and cared for. Avoid hard objects hitting the mold during daily use. Damage to the mold should be replaced in time.

4. Mold life and maintenance

4.1. Maintenance method
Gypsum molds (including resin gypsum molds) should be cleaned with a soft brush to remove the residual clay and blow out the air holes with a high-pressure air gun during daily cleaning. If there is a breakage on the outside of the mold, plaster should be filled in and sandpaper should be used to polish it after drying. Metal molds should be used to wipe the surface with machine oil every month to prevent rust, chrome plating has flaking, should be rewritten plating for maintenance.

4.2. Scrap judgment standard
Gypsum molds, resin plaster molds, if the internal deformation of the box more than 1mm, or the rate of blockage of air holes more than 30%, the mold should be scrapped and replaced with a new mold. For metal molds, if the chromium plating layer is peeled off and the internal base material is damaged, the mold should be scrapped. If the internal deformation of the case is greater than 0.3mm, the mold is scrapped.

Consistency of customized ceramic mugs is one of the biggest concerns of purchasers. Whether the size, weight, color and other elements of ceramic mugs from the same batch or multiple batches can be kept highly consistent. Need ceramic factory on the production specifications of the soft requirements, but also need, ceramic mug mold hard strength. The combination of hard and soft, is a systematic project, in order to produce the highest consistency of ceramic mugs.