Ceramic Mug Group, Bone China Mug, invented by the British in 1794, is recognized as the world's most high-end type of porcelain. Bone china is made by adding herbivorous animal bone powder to porcelain clay and firing it twice through high-temperature plain firing and low-temperature glaze firing. It is known as "thin as paper, white as jade, bright as a mirror, and sound like a chime", and its color is the unique natural milky white of natural bone powder. Since its inception for 300 years, bone china has always been the pinnacle of ceramics. It has long been the exclusive porcelain of the British royal and noble families, and is currently the only recognized high-end porcelain in the world. It has both practical and artistic values, and is a symbol of power and status, known as the king of porcelain.
Bone china mugs are different from ceramic mugs and
stoneware mugs. Ceramic Mug Group will introduce bone china mugs from three aspects: production process characteristics, appearance characteristics, and internal performance.
1.The Technological Characteristics of Bone china mug
1). Most bone china mugs are fired twice. It features high-temperature plain firing and low-temperature glaze firing as its most prominent process features. The secondary firing process of bone china mugs is different from traditional low-temperature plain firing and high-temperature glaze firing processes, which can better solve the problems of high-temperature deformation and glaze gloss. The Japanese refer to bodies that are not glazed at low temperatures (around 900 ℃) as plain fired, bodies that are not glazed at high temperatures (around 1300 ℃) as fired, and glaze materials as fired.
2). The forming process of bone porcelain uses 40% -50% non plastic German bone powder, and its body formula has a lower total clay content. Compared with ordinary ceramics, it has poor plasticity and is more difficult to form. The following methods are generally used to improve plasticity or yield
(a) Using highly plastic clay
(b) Using organic plasticizers such as CMC
(c) Increase particle size and practice mud multiple times;
(d) Use hot rolling forming machinery.
3). The use of imitation saggar in the firing process is the most representative process in the bone porcelain firing process. Due to the narrow firing range and large shrinkage of bone porcelain, it is easy to deform the soft bed during firing. It is necessary to use processes such as buckle firing, support firing, or buried firing to solve the deformation problem.
4). Kiln furniture materials used in bone ceramics have higher requirements than general ceramics. Most kiln furniture needs to match the product, and generally each type of product has a matching kiln furniture. This is also why the production of bone ceramics is more cumbersome than that of general ceramics. The bone ceramic production team has a high demand for kiln furniture materials and also has high requirements for the working surface of kiln furniture products.
5). The production cost of bone ceramic as a mold material is high, and it is generally suitable for producing high-grade porcelain. The requirements for thin matrix and stricter mold requirements are required. It is necessary to use high-quality gypsum for precise processing and production, and strictly control the number of times the mold is used. The mold cannot be used for a long time.
6). Production management: The bone porcelain material is white and delicate, with small stains that are particularly eye-catching. We produce high-quality porcelain through strict and meticulous production management to ensure product quality.
2.Appearance characteristics of bone china mugs
1). Appearance beauty: The porcelain is delicate and transparent, the shape is beautiful and elegant, the color surface is as smooth as jade, and the flower surface is colorful
2). Health products: Calcium oxide is mainly used to make bone china. Bone china flower decoration and glaze are fused together. It does not contain lead and cadmium harmful to human body. It can be called "green environmental protection porcelain". Long term use is beneficial to human health.
3). Fine craftsmanship: secondary firing, complex craftsmanship, only produced in the UK, South Korea, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, and Thailand. The water absorption rate is less than 0.003%.
3. The Internal Performance of Bone china mugs
1). Mechanical strength bone ceramics belong to the category of soft ceramics, but their mechanical strength is not low. They belong to traditional ceramics with high strength, and their bending strength is 120-160MPa, which is 30-50% higher than traditional ceramics 80-120MPa.
2). The raw material for thermally stable bone porcelain cups has a high coefficient of expansion and high anisotropy. Therefore, traditional bone porcelain has poor thermal stability, usually around 160 ℃ (i.e., heat exchange in water at 160-20 ℃ does not rupture). Some experts use methods such as zirconia toughening to improve the thermal stability of bone porcelain, but currently, this technology is not well applied in domestic market products, and many products have poor thermal stability.
3). The glaze hardness of bone china mugs is lower than that of ceramic cups, usually 550-600MPa, due to the use of frit glaze and glazing at low temperatures (1050-1150 ℃). Generally speaking, adding ceramic powder, zircon powder, etc. can improve the hardness of the glaze.
4. How to distinguish the authenticity of bone china mugs
1). Hold the bone china cup in your hand and observe. A good bone porcelain mug has a natural milky white color unique to natural bone powder. Observing the permeability of the bone porcelain under bright light can reveal the fineness of the cup's composition. A good bone porcelain should have good transparency and be uniform without impurities.
2). Feel the delicacy and hardness of porcelain with your hands. The addition of cow bone powder makes the weight of bone china mugs lighter than other types of porcelain, making them thinner than ordinary porcelain. The finished product has a lightweight texture, is fine and hard (twice as fine as daily porcelain), and is not easy to crack.
3). With a gentle flick of your index finger and thumb, you can hear a crisp "ding" sound from the bone china cup. If you rub your hands with water at the mouth of a bowl, it will make a sound similar to that of an airplane flying over. Of course, the sound is relatively small, so you should listen carefully.
The above is the recognition of bone china mugs, and for product recognition, attention should also be paid to the processing of color images; Exquisite products should also have clear color lines. If the patterns and colors can be vivid and layered, then this cup is a beauty.
Bone china mugs and ceramic mugs have their own characteristics. Bone china mugs are light, thin, and expensive; Ceramic mugs are thick, heavy, and inexpensive. Applicability: Bone china mugs are more suitable for drinking black tea, while ceramic mugs are more suitable for drinking coffee.
