LO-MASS Kiln Furniture Components Leverage the Superior Mechanical Properties of Silicon Carbide

LO-MASS kiln furniture components take full advantage of silicon carbide’s exceptional properties to offer long-term refractory solutions that outlive conventional materials. Their exceptional strength, durability, and lightweight nature allows for shorter heating/cooling cycles which reduce energy usage while increasing overall kiln efficiency.

Advancer shelves are nitride bonded and designed for use in soda, gas reduction, wood and electric kilns. Their thin and lightweight nature allow more stacking space within your kiln than with conventional oxide bonded shelves, giving your stacking system increased efficiency.

1. Strength

Silicon carbide retains much of its mechanical strength at high temperatures, enabling it to be used in shelves designed to carry heavy loads. Furthermore, silicon carbide resists oxidation and thermal shock much better than traditional cordierite or mullite compositions, making it the optimal material for electric kiln shelves.

Bailey Ceramic Supply provides an assortment of shapes and sizes of nitride-bonded silicon carbide shelves in various forms and sizes. These thinner and lighter than conventional 1-in.-thick cordierite kiln shelves save energy through reduced heating costs while staying flat even under heavy loads.

These shelves are less porous than most other forms of kiln shelf material, meaning glaze drippings won’t penetrate deeply into their surfaces – making cleaning much simpler and faster! Furthermore, their lifespan surpasses traditional shelves.

Saint-Gobain conducted rigorous testing before offering Advancer kiln shelves to the electric kiln market, with positive results showing that although Advancer plates conduct electricity when in contact with electrical elements, their current flowing through them does not pose any safety risk under normal operating conditions.

2. Durability

Silicon carbide shelves are highly reliable and can handle a range of firing temperatures, heavy loads and thermal shock. Their ruggedness makes them an excellent option for many kiln operations.

Manufacturer of Cordierite Shelves at Cone 12, offering superior strength, thickness, resistance to oxidation and weight. Their design allows them to withstand gas, salt, soda and wood firing environments with zero warping over repeated firings under heavy loads.

Due to their lower density and thermal mass, low density ceramic shelves also reduce energy use by using less BTU’s for heating the furniture in their kilns. To increase durability further, it is advised that potters apply a coat of kiln wash before their first use – this will protect against surface abrasion during shipping and handling and can be purchased from most ceramic suppliers; any shelf must then be thoroughly cleaned after application of this treatment.

3. Lightweight

Silicon carbide shelves’ low thermal mass helps lower kiln energy consumption. Their long lifespan also lowers maintenance and replacement costs while aligning with sustainable manufacturing practices.

Oxide-bonded silicon carbide shelves have long been the go-to material for potters firing to cone 10 in gas, wood or multi-fuel kilns. Not only are they strong but their low porosity makes cleaning them easier compared to most other shelf materials; glaze drips don’t seep deeper into its surface so long cleaning sessions won’t be required!

Nitride-bonded silicon carbide shelves are even stronger and weigh approximately half as much as their conventional 1″ cordierite counterparts, yet weigh half or less than conventional cordierite shelves. Rated for use in gas, soda and salt firings as well as electric kilns; their thinner material allows for easier stacking during rapid firings such as crash cool or Raku firings as well as being less likely to warp under heavy loads than their counterparts and can even be rotated between firings to prevent sagging; their edges have slit edges slit edges in order to alleviate thermal expansion stress stress further extending their shelf’s lifetime further by relieving thermal expansion stress stress on edges of shelves slit on edges as well.

4. Heat Resistance

Black silicon carbide’s thermal properties make it a superior choice for use as kiln furniture in ceramics, glass, metallurgy and semiconductor production environments. It can withstand very high temperatures of up to 1600 degF without warping or losing shape and can handle rapid temperature changes without warping – important considerations in any environment where intense heating cycles will be followed by rapid cooling processes.

Nitride-bonded shelves are considerably thinner (5/16″) and lighter than traditional cordierite or mullite shelves, making them easier to handle. Their lower mass saves kiln space and fuel usage; cutting heating costs. Furthermore, nitride-bonded kiln shelves have greater resistance to warping than oxide-bonded ones and higher load carrying capacities.

Make sure that new shelves are thoroughly cleaned prior to firing them, as shipping debris could leave behind a film of grit that could cause irreparable damage during initial thermal shock. Furthermore, take care not to touch bare surfaces of kiln shelves when still hot!

5. Easy Cleaning

Kiln wash is a fine powdered ceramic material mixed with water to form an easy to apply paint-like consistency, typically used to prevent glaze drips and ceramic pieces from adhering to shelves during firing. In addition, kiln wash can lubricate and protect kiln furniture during firing – due to its dry powdered nature it is advised that users wear respirators or dust mask when handling it.

Shelf wash should be regularly used to maintain silicon carbide kiln shelving and extend its lifespan, and is particularly important when unloading kilns. Light grinding may be accomplished using fiberglass reinforced disks; for heavier work such as leveling irregular shelves a masonry-grade diamond cup wheel should be utilized.

Nitride-bonded silicon carbide shelves do not need to be washed as often, since they are less porous and glaze does not adhere to them (magic!). However, it would still be prudent to apply a kiln wash from time to time, particularly during a soda fire.