Because with plastic and steel out of the way, clay is the next logical step

Mar 29, 2014 07:21 GMT  ·  By

Ceramic used to be synonymous with pottery in the old day, but now it includes china and pretty much every other type of porcelain item, among other things. 3D printing experts decided it was time to add clay and its variants/alternatives to the list of supported materials.

Porcelain normally requires a long, drawn-out process to be molded into the plates, cups, bowls and other containers we all have at home.

In a factory, there is a set of workers that prepare the clay mixture, another one that pours or sculpts it into the main shape, and a third set of employees that put it through a heater (like a furnace but as big as a room or so).

Then there's a fourth set that adds some accessories (if we're talking porcelain dolls or little statues), after which the items go through another high-temperature drying phase.

Then a glaze is applied (again, another set of people do this), after which the intended patterns or drawings are painted on (and basically burned again).

All in all, making a plate, or cup or bowl or anything else, is pretty complicated and takes days at a time, or more depending on how sophisticated a figurine is.

Bristol University students managed, under the supervision of Professor Stephen Hoskins, to invent a 3D printer that can make ceramic items all on its own though.

The inventors spoke of 3D printed tableware, but designers and artists should be able to use it for their own ends easily enough.

It still takes a few days, because the process of printing, glazing and firing each piece is still followed, but at least you can do it at home now.

Well, maybe not, since the 3D printer is as big as a washing machine or large oven, so we might see it more in 3D printing services and shops than people's homes.

Still, it's a new, revolutionary way of making china, albeit one that spells doom for the jobs of the many of our kinsmen who work in the ceramic industry.

Patented materials discovered by Stephen Hoskins and David Huson lie at the basis of the technology.

Now it's just a matter of time until glass can be 3D printed, at which point humankind will really have to start revising one of its biggest industries.

The inventors from the University of West England are setting up a new company to market their invention, and improve it over time. It is called, or will be called, Argillasys, Latin word for potter’s clay. An online store will be opened soon (the company will launch in late spring).