The production of ceramic dishes is considered an ancient folk craft.
Despite the presence of a wide variety of modern materials that make it possible to manufacture similar products, it does not lose its relevance now.
This is due to excellent consumer characteristics, as well as a long service life. Ceramics are relatively fragile compared to plastic, but its environmental safety and high thermal conductivity successfully compensate for this drawback.
Capital investment
In ancient times, clay pots were molded in almost every village. Beginning entrepreneurs who want to establish their own ceramic production can go both by using old traditions and come up with something of their own. The main advantage of this type of activity is that it does not require significant investment.
The fact is that only skillful hands and raw materials are needed to start work. Any special equipment for the production of ceramic dishes is not required - just having a kiln and a dryer is enough - you will have to pay the most for it. It can be purchased or built independently.
In the first case, you will have to spend about 50 thousand rubles. As for the manufacture of the furnace, it can be ordered from some craftsman, and it will come out much cheaper than buying a finished one. It should be noted that they are of two types - tunnel (have continuous action) and horns (differ in periodic action).
Raw materials for production
The manufacture of ceramic dishes requires the use of basic and auxiliary materials. The first of them includes raw materials for the preparation of ceramic masses, paints and glazes, and the second includes substances necessary for the production of capsules and gypsum forms. But the main raw material in this case is sintering clay.
In addition to it, the composition of future ceramic products in the form of additives should include kaolin, which serves as a regulator of properties. You can add shards of broken or failed objects, quartz sand and fireclay. The addition of alumina, talc, carborundum and dunite will significantly increase such indicators as strength, thermal conductivity and heat resistance.
Pottery Skills
In order to independently master the beginnings of mastery in the production of ceramic dishes, it is enough to enroll in courses or paid lessons that are given by professionals. For a person who has never done anything like this, you need to attend at least a few classes. Be that as it may, the time spent will not pass in vain and in the future you will not have to learn from your mistakes those simple truths that mankind came up with many centuries ago.
Manufacturing technology
Currently, there is far from one technology for the production of pottery. Most often, the ways of performing work differ among themselves by the firing time, the presence of additives and the finish of finished products. You can understand the difference between them only after you try each of them in practice.
Basic operations
The production of ceramic dishes consists of several stages: preparation of clay mass, molding, drying, firing and decoration of finished products. At the first stage, it is necessary to clean the raw materials from all kinds of mineral additives, then crush it, grind and sift with a special sieve.Next, we proceed to the formation of the future product. The mass can be any - plastic or liquid.
The advantage of the first is that it makes it possible to produce products of different sizes. As for the second method, the casting in plaster molds is performed from a liquid mass, which is also called a slip. Its humidity is not less than 35%. It is used under the condition of high complexity when no other method is suitable.
As soon as future ceramic products are pre-dried, it will be necessary to attach pens, spouts and other elements to them using an adhesive mixture of slip and dextrin.
Ceramic production involves drying, which will provide mechanical strength and resistance to soaking. It should be noted that drying is carried out at a temperature of about 80 aboutC in the dryers.
The cookware acquires the specified physical and technical characteristics during firing. In addition, it allows you to fix the decor and glaze on the surface. As a rule, they burn it twice, and if it is painted on the glaze, three. At the final stage, manual or semi-mechanized decoration is performed.
Types of products
A concept such as ceramic products is quite extensive. In addition to dishes, this includes a variety of household items (vases, flower pots), souvenirs, jewelry, toys, building materials and so on. Based on this, in the manufacture of products, you can use a variety of types of clay. In order to understand what kind of products will be in demand, it is advisable to first go through the outlets through which it is planned to organize their sales.
Product sales
The production of ceramic dishes will not justify itself if you do not establish its marketing. In the event that it is not possible to open your own store, products must be offered in other people's shops and outlets of souvenirs and dishes in the markets. Despite the presence of similar plastic products, buyers often prefer more reliable ceramics. In this regard, many entrepreneurs will agree to take such utensils for sale.
Be that as it may, the opening of your store looks more appropriate, because this will significantly increase revenue. It should be noted that in order to organize such entrepreneurial activities as the production of ceramic dishes and its implementation, it is necessary to register with the tax authorities and obtain the status of a private entrepreneur or legal entity.
Among other things, sales of dishes can be arranged through the website. The advantage of this option is the opportunity to save on renting premises for the store and working directly directly with customers. Do not forget that in this case, consumers can order products on an individual project with original paintings, so there is no need to wait until someone buys this or that product.
Profit diversification
One of the main ways to increase financial income from the production of ceramic dishes is to increase the assortment.
In this case, it is recommended to pay attention to building materials, and more specifically - to the tile.
Despite the fact that now it is mass-produced in industrial volumes, there are a large number of handmade lovers.
Another interesting area is the work with landscape design specialists. The fact is that all kinds of ceramic decorative elements that are installed in the courtyards of country houses, cottages and restaurants have been very popular recently. These include decorative lanterns, animal figures, large flower vases and the like - it all depends on the imagination.
