Ceramics, Technical Ceramics & Tile Manufacturing

Industry Overview – Electric Heating in Ceramics & Technical Ceramics

Ceramics, technical ceramics and tiles rely on electric heating in kilns, furnaces, dryers and press tooling.
Precise, repeatable temperature control is essential to achieve the required microstructure, strength and dimensional stability. Intelligent SCR power control can improve temperature stability, help manage electrical demand and provide data that supports quality assurance and maintenance as plants modernise and expand their product range.

Batch & Shuttle Kilns
Sintering Furnaces
Press & Mould Heating

Tunnel Kilns
Dryers & Preheaters
Glazing Lines

Process Machinery & Applications

Electrically heated ceramics equipment commonly controlled with REVO SCR power controllers.

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Batch & Shuttle Kilns

Electric resistance kilns for small-scale firing, testing and technical ceramics production.

Common pain points:

temperature uniformity
cycle consistency
energy demand

Recommended controllers:

Tunnel Kilns & Continuous Lines

Electrically boosted or fully electric kilns for tile, refractory and sanitaryware firing on continuous lines.

Common pain points:

profile control
zone balance
line speed changes

Recommended controllers:

REVO S

REVO PC

Sintering Furnaces (Technical Ceramics)

Controlled sintering of alumina, zirconia, ferrites and electronic substrates in high-temperature electric furnaces.

Common pain points:

high temperature stability
ramp/soak accuracy
traceability

Recommended controllers:

REVO C

REVO PC

Dryers & Preheaters

Electric dryers and preheaters for slip, glaze and greenware moisture removal before firing.

Common pain points:

drying uniformity
cracking/warping
energy use

Recommended controllers:

Press & Mould Heating

Mould platen and tool heating for powder pressing and hot pressing of technical ceramics.

Common pain points:

surface temperature balance
start-up time
integration

Recommended controllers:

REVO C

REVO PC

REVO S

Glazing & Decoration Lines

Infrared and convection zones for glaze setting, drying and decorating tiles, tableware and technical parts.

Common pain points:

colour consistency
surface quality
cycle time

Recommended controllers:

Typical Pain Points & How We Solve Them

Temperature Uniformity & Firing Quality

Ceramic firing and sintering are highly sensitive to temperature gradients, which can cause warping, cracking or variation in material properties.

Solution: REVO C and REVO-PC-based architectures provide smooth power control and support multi-zone firing, helping kilns and furnaces maintain tighter temperature profiles along the load.

Energy Use in Heat-Intensive Processes

Kilns, furnaces and dryers dominate energy use in ceramics plants, especially at high operating temperatures.

Solution: Appropriate firing modes, demand limiting and staggered starts with REVO-PN and REVO-PC help smooth electrical demand and support energy-efficiency initiatives compared with basic on/off control.

Ramp/Soak & Repeatability

Technical ceramics and tiles often require complex heating/cooling curves to achieve consistent results.

Solution: Using SCR control with REVO C or REVO-PC under PLC/SCADA or furnace controller supervision supports accurate ramp/soak behaviour and repeatable cycles across batches.

Grade Changes & New Product Introduction

Introducing new bodies, glazes or technical ceramic recipes can require different heating profiles and careful tuning.

Solution: Digitally controlled power via REVO C and REVO-PC makes it easier to adjust heating behaviour as recipes change, while keeping visibility of power and current at zone level.

Element Failures & Unplanned Downtime

Element and connection issues can lead to local cold spots, quality loss or unscheduled stoppages.

Solution: Open/partial-load alarms and current monitoring from REVO C and REVO-PC help maintenance teams detect developing issues earlier, supporting planned interventions.

Process Data, QA & Audit Support

Technical ceramics and specialty tiles increasingly require evidence of process conditions for customers and approvals.

Solution: When REVO controllers are connected to PLC, SCADA or furnace control systems, power and alarm information can be logged alongside temperature data to support QA and audit needs.

Snapshot: Tunnel Kiln & Glazing Line Electric Control Upgrade

Problem: a tile producer with an electrically boosted tunnel kiln and downstream glazing line using contactors/SSRs saw temperature variation along the kiln, glaze defects and limited visibility of heater status.

Solution: kiln and glazing zones were re-controlled using a REVO-PC master with REVO-S zone controllers on the resistive elements. The line control system now sends zone setpoints and line-speed information to the REVO-PC and receives power, current and alarm data over an industrial fieldbus.

Result: more uniform temperature along the tunnel kiln, improved glaze appearance, smoother electrical loading and clearer information for maintenance and quality teams (typical benefits achievable on similar upgrade projects).

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Why CD Automation?

REVO solutions for kilns, furnaces, dryers and tooling.
REVO-PC with Modbus, Profinet, EtherCAT into PLC/SCADA/furnace systems.
Firing modes suited to resistive and, where required, transformer-fed loads.
Support for OEMs, integrators and end-user engineering teams.
Suitable for both retrofit projects and new plant installations.

Industry Overview – Electric Heating in Ceramics & Technical Ceramics