Air Bubbles Definition Ceramics

You may have heard air bubbles will cause your piece to explode.

Air bubbles definition ceramics.

Air bubbles may form when the clay is prepared and they should be removed to avoid cracks in the pots you make. Process of kneading the clay with the hands to remove air bubbles and ensure homogenous mass. Aligning the halves of clay will help free the clay of air bubbles. Removes the air bubbles air bubbles have to be one of the most irritating things to find in your clay when you re trying to center or throw on the wheel.

The process of removing air bubbles from clay can be performed manually and is known as clay wedging. Cutting the clay and rearranging the layers ensures that all parts of the clay mix together evenly. Clay manufacturers extract the air bubbles from clay using a special machine known as a pug mill. Working the clay up and down in a cone shape on the wheel to align the platelates in a spiral formation and thus increase control in centering and throwing.

Fritted glazes generate far fewer bubbles although they can still come from the clay portion of the recipe used for suspending the glaze slurry binders used for hardening and from colorants under the glazes. If not done thoroughly air bubbles will cause the clay piece to burst in the kiln damaging the kiln and other pieces of work. The bigger the air bubbles the more difficult it becomes. A sharp instrument used to cut pierce and incise designs on clay.

Check the clay s readiness. If not done thoroughly any remaining air bubbles with cause a ceramic piece to explode in the kiln damaging the piece and the kiln. Wedging most certainly helps to get rid of them. Efforts are made to create a dense laydown to reduce air pockets in dried glaze layer.