Innovative production processes for porcelanized stoneware tiles

Several economic studies carried out during the last years have highlighted that the porcelain stoneware tile is capturing great market’s shares. This product combines significant mechanical properties with the possibility to obtain special surface decorations. Hence, the optimization of its production process is cause of great efforts by manufacturers. This paper presents the results of a study, developed in partnership with an international group which produces facilities for Ceramics, focused on the innovation of porcelain stoneware tile production process. The main idea is to customize ceramic products (tiles) obtained from a single large-sized slab. Hence, either cutting facilities for un-dried and unfired tiles or for fired tiles are adopted. Moreover, the substitution of traditional presses with innovative double pressing systems is explored. Particularly, a comparison both in technical and economic perspective between the traditional production process and manufacturing systems coupling the aforementioned innovations are presented.