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Spanish ceramic tile manufacturers are, once again, the largest presence at the trade fair

February 7-10 are the dates for the 30th edition of the International Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Equipment Fair, CEVISAMA at the Feria Valencia centre. The fair is already an international point of reference for the industry involved in coverings for interiors. Spain’s ceramic tile sector is once again the largest presence at the event, with a large number of ASCER member companies showcasing their products and latest developments.

North American tile industry establishes product sustainability certification program

The Tile Council of North America is pleased to announce the establishment of “Green Squared,” the world’s first consensus-based sustainability standard and certification program developed exclusively for tiles and tile installation materials. ”With the recent approval of ANSI A138.1, the standard upon which the Green Squared certification program is based, our industry now has a means by which to define and certify the environmental and social sustainability attributes of tiles and related installation materials,” remarked Bill Griese, TCNA standards development and Green Initiative manager.

Streaming continuous data at up to 96 MSamples per second

More and more applications require high sampling rates, but due to computer processing and bus limitations, in the past, special AD cards with large on board memories had to be used. And, with these ‘scope-like’ cards, only triggered blocks of data could be captured, so if the trigger was not set correctly the event could be lost forever. All Dewetron instruments are able to acquire 5GB per minute continuously, and dedicated Dewetron transient systems can capture up to 11GB per minute, where only the hard disk drive size is the limitation of your recording length.

Kyocera introduces new Megacoat cermet cutting tools in grade PV7025 for general machining of steel

Kyocera Industrial Ceramics Corporation’s Cutting Tool Division has introduced its new PV7025 PVD-coated cermet grade of indexable cutting tool inserts for general machining of steel. Featuring Kyocera’s new proprietary Megacoat PVD* coating technology, PV7025 offers extraordinary wear resistance and heat resistance, providing superior durability in high-speed machining. When combined with a super micrograin cermet substrate, the result is an exceptional cutting tool material for steel machining.

ECN grants Ceramiques Techniques Industrielles license on HybSi membrane technology

Ceramiques Techniques Industrielles, as one of the market leaders in inorganic membranes, has obtained a license for the commercialization of the HybSi membrane technology from ECN. The HybSi nanosieve allows the purification of various industrial solvents at a reduced cost and at an enhanced efficiency. It further combines an outstanding performance with unprecedented long term stability. Important fields of application can be found in the production of bio-fuels and in the separation of azeotropic mixtures. The HybSi membrane technology was originally developed by ECN, in collaboration with the Universities of Twente and Amsterdam.

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Deltaker, S.A. tile. Credit: ASCER

The Association of Ceramic Tile Manufacturers of Spain (ASCER) says it is working with the Harvard Graduate School of Design on a one-year research effort to explore the best ways to meet the increasing challenges of product customization, adjustment to buyers’ preferences, and sustainability in production.

The Ceramic Futures project will be led by Martin Bechthold, professor of Architectural Technology, and Christoph Reinhart, associate professor of Architectural Technology. According to an ASCER press release, the project consists of three phases.

The first phase (December 2009 to spring 2010) is focusing on current design-to-manufacturing processes. Work during this time is based on in-depth case studies on sustainability, manufacturing and related design and business strategies.

The second phase (January to June 2010) includes a detailed evaluation of the performance of ceramic materials in buildings. Integral parts of this phase are prototyping and experimentation studies that investigate the customization of ceramics through robotics and other digital fabrication technologies.In

In the final phase (May to December 2010), the group says it will develop the best ideas generated in the previous phase, and complete one or more prototypes to highlighting possible improvements in the fabrication of ceramic products.

Although details have not been announced, ASCER says it will disseminate the findings of the research project via lectures and publications.

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