Computer-IntegratedCeramics ManufacturingDan Bin, Liu Fei and Cao LeInstitute of Manufacturing EngineeringChongqing University, Chongqing, China

CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manu-facturing) is the most common modern design and manufactur-ing technology used in ceramics manufacturing.

It is used in realistic modeling design, decorative patterndesign, relief design and automated machining of ceramicproducts.

Orozco, for example, developed a computer system for theautomated product design and manufacture of dies for advanced3-D forms in the porcelain industry.1 Delcam put forward thePower Solution, a series of CAD/CAM software suitable forceramics.2

Wedgwood introduced major efficiency into its operations bycombining traditional craftsmanship with computer-supporteddesign and modeling.3 Royal Doulton applied CAD to design itsnew Oceana range—taking half the time that it would havetaken using conventional methods.4

Griffiths has discussed computer-aided pattern design andceramic transfer printing, which has changed as a result of theintroduction of CAD.5 Helgesen applied CAD/CAM to transposedesign data into instructions that were fed into a multi-axismilling machine.6 In addition, the rapid prototype technologyand management of material and information flow also wereapplied in ceramics.7, 8

The aforementioned technology, however, is mainly localautomated technology or local integrated technology. The globalintegration of overall product design, production and manage-ment of a ceramics enterprise, e.g., computer-integrated manu-facturing (CIM) in ceramics, has not been extensivelyresearched or applied.

CIM System for CeramicsTraditional manufacturing processes for ceramic products usu-ally are serial and time consuming. From order to final product,

American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 80, No. 3 27

Computer-integrated manufacturing technology can

enhance design, manufacture and management

systems while decreasing inventory and lead time

for delivery and increasing customer satisfaction.

Computer-Integrated Ceramics Manufacturing

If porcelain samples fail to passthe evaluation, the manufacturermust return to the preceding steps,and a large investment of time andresources is wasted.

To streamline the manufacturingprocess, a kind of CIM system hasbeen built. It includes systems forengineering design, managementinformation, reverse engineering,mold manufacture, decal manufac-ture, product (decorative porcelain)manufacture, database and com-puter network.

The engineering design systemcontains five subsystems. These arethe modeling CAD, decorativepattern CAD, decorative porcelainCAD, mold CAD and CAPP (com-puter-aided process planning)subsystems.

The management informationsystem also contains many subsys-tems, e.g., marketing management,finance management, productionmanagement, purchasing manage-ment, inventory management, etc.The database system is composed ofdatabases for modeling, mold,decorative pattern, process, elec-tronic warehouse of virtual productsand management information.

These are the essential databasesfor design, manufacture and man-agement in a ceramics enterprise.When customers order decorative

there are 10 serial steps. These include modeling design,process planning, mold design, mold trial production, whitewaretrial production, evaluation by experts and customers, decora-tive porcelain trial production, evaluation by customers, moldproduction and porcelain production.

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Traditional manufacturing processes for ceramic products.

Computer-integrated manufacturing system for ceramic products.

Ordering Forecasting

Decorative Pattern Design

Decal Trial-Production

Modeling Design

Process Planning

Mold Design

Mold Trial-Production

Whiteware Trial-Prodcution

Evaluation ofExperts &Customers

Fail

Pass

Decorative Porcelain Trial-Production

Fail Evaluation ofCustomers

Pass

Mold Production

Decorative Porcelain Production

Engineering Design System

Modeling CAD

Decorative Pattern CAD

Decorative Porcelain CAD

Mold CAD

CAPP

ReverseEngineering

System

Product Design Database

VirtualProducts

MoldManufacturing

System

ProductManufacturing

System

DecalManufacturing

System

Experts and CustomerEvaluation System

Database System

Management Information System

Marketing Management

Finance Management

Production Management

Purchase Management

Inventory Management

Computer Network System

Modeling Database

MoldDatabase

DecorativePattern

Database

ProcessDatabase

ElectronicWarehouse of

Virtual Products

ManagementInformationDatabase

porcelain, the manufacturer mustfirst apply the engineering designsystem to design 3-D models ofwhiteware and decorative patternsand create virtual products, i.e., 3-D figures and motion pictures of thedecorative porcelain on computers.

Customers and experts can thenevaluate the virtual productsthrough a computer network. If thevirtual products are not satisfactory,they may be rapidly and easilymodified. If the virtual productssatisfy them, the manufacturer willdesign the molds and plan produc-tion processes with the engineeringdesign system.

Manufacturers can quickly andsubsequently produce the molds,the decals and the products. Finally,the management informationsystem obtains the product informa-tion and realizes the integration ofmarketing, purchasing, inventory,production and finance informationrelative to the products.

Key TechnologiesInformation integration and processintegration of marketing, purchas-ing, inventory, production andfinance are the chief tasks of themanagement information system.

After gathering information

concerning marketing contracts and inventory, the marketingmanagement subsystem generates production orders for theproduction management subsystem, the bill of lading for theproduct stores and the account receivables for the financemanagement subsystem.

When receiving production orders and checking whitewareinventory, the production management subsystem generates theproduction schedule for the workshops and the materialrequirement for the purchasing management subsystem.

The purchasing management subsystem then produces thematerial orders for suppliers and the accounts payable for thefinance management subsystem according to the requirementsand existing inventory. Finally, the finance management subsys-tem receives payment for products and pays for materials. Theintegration is supported by a Microsoft SQL Server database.

Incorporating characteristics of ceramic design along withintegrated technology is the aim of the computer-aided designsystem.

Integration between the modeling CAD and the decorativepattern CAD has been realized, making possible the 3-D designof decorative porcelain. The integration of the modeling CADand the mold CAD also has been achieved. Consequently, theintegrative design of ceramic products and molds can be implemented.

The subsystem of ceramic product data management has beendeveloped for the integration between the engineering designand management information systems. The ceramic CAPPsubsystem turns the nonstandard and experiential processes oftraditional ceramics production into standardization anddigitalization.

Integrating Modeling, Decorative PatternDelcam’s PowerSHAPE has been used in the modeling CAD, andCorel’s Coreldraw and Adobe’s Photoshop have been applied in

American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 80, No. 3 29

Integration of the management information system in a ceramics enterprise.

Production OrdersMarketing Management

AccountReceivable

Product Inventory Whiteware Inventory

Finance Management Inventory Management

Account Payable

MaterialInventory

Bill ofLading

Payment

Payment

Delivery

Orders

DecorativePorcelain Whiteware

Production Management

MaterialRequirement

Purchase Management

Production Schedule

Information Flow Material Flow Money Flow

Material

Order

Product Stores Whiteware Stores Material Stores

WorkshopsCustomers Suppliers

Computer-Integrated Ceramics Manufacturing

modeling. These are digitalization ofcurve surfaces, reconstruction ofthe curve surfaces and 3-D remodel-ing of the ceramic products.

Since ceramic products acceptlarge tolerances, the essentialdimension precision of the reverseengineering is usually lower thanthat of general mechanical products.Quick and economical digitalizationequipment, e.g., coordinate measur-ing machines and touch-pad 3-Dscanners, can meet the demands ofthe reverse engineering of theceramic products. In order to bemeasured rapidly and exactly, thecharacteristic points, lines andsurfaces should be chosen carefullybefore being scanned or measured.

Delcam's CopyCAD andPowerSHAPE are used to restruc-ture the surfaces. CopyCAD is usedto rebuild the surfaces from themeasure data of the characteristicpoints. The rebuilt surfaces, whichconsist of many pieces of tinytriangle planes, are revised, com-bined and smoothed withPowerSHAPE.

The 3-D figures of the products arethen remodeled. For some products,their restructured surfaces may beredesigned aesthetically.

There are two steps to the reverseengineering of the decorativepatterns. These are the pick-up andthe revision of the patterns.

Two methods may be used to pickup the data of the patterns. If theoriginal patterns are on plain paperor are photographs, they can bescanned with plain scanners. If thepatterns originate from substances,e.g., flowers, fruit, etc., they can beobtained with digital cameras.

Original patterns are then revisedand redesigned with Photoshop tobecome the decorative patternsneeded. Reverse engineering makesthe design of the decorative patternsmore efficient.

Case StudyCIM technology and systems havebeen applied by Chongqing CHN &CHN Ceramics Co. Ltd., a ceramicsproducer in China whose productshave been selected as the tableware

the decorative pattern CAD. Autodesk’s 3-DMAX has been usedto affix the decorative patterns on the surface of the 3-D model-ing and to create the 3-D decorative figures of the porcelain.

The 3-D modeling of whiteware have been designed andconverted into STL format files with PowerSHAPE. The decora-tive patterns have been designed with Coreldraw or Photoshopand saved as the pattern files, e.g., CDR, PSD, BMP, JPG or TIFformat files.

By inputting the STL and pattern files to 3-DMAX, sticking thedecorative patterns onto the 3-D whiteware modeling andlighting up the decorative modeling, the decorative porcelainCAD subsystem can obtain 3-D decorative figures.

If the 3-D decorative figures satisfy the experts and customers,the 3-D modeling data will be used for the mold CAD. The dataof the decorative patterns will be used for printmaking andsilkscreen printing of decals.

Each ceramic product needs a set of molds, so there is greatdemand for mold design. The mold CAD subsystem has beendeveloped to make mold design easy.

The modeling CAD subsystem extracts whiteware profileinformation from the 3-D model and turns it into DXF formatfiles. It reads the DXF files, generates the draft of the moldsaccording to the whiteware profile figure and modifies them.Then, the mold CAD subsystem gets the mold figures.

A subsystem of ceramic product data management has beendeveloped for the integration of the engineering design systemand management information system.

When ceramic products are designed, the subsystem generatesthe BOM (bill of material) of the products according to theirdesign information and automatically lays the BOM into thedatabase of the management information system. By this means,the engineering design system and the management informationsystem are integrated.

Virtual Ceramic ProductsThe engineering design system has been applied to design the 3-D decorative figures of porcelain. Some problems—distortion ofthe decorative patterns affixed on the complex curved surfaces,difficulty of locating the decorative patterns on the surfaces andtransparency of the 3-D decorative figures—have been solvedsuccessfully.

Motion pictures of 3-D decorative figures are produced. Motionpictures of the porcelain on computers are called virtual ceramicproducts. The virtual ceramic products make it possible forcustomers to see the final show of products and give theirsuggestions to designers before production.

Virtual ceramic products can be laid in electronic warehousesor electronic shop windows, where the customers can view themvia the Internet. This is the basis of electronic commerce in theceramics industries.

Reverse EngineeringBecause of the complex curve surfaces and patterns, remodelingand retrofit play important roles in the design of ceramic prod-ucts. Reverse engineering of ceramic products includes twoparts: the reverse engineering of the 3-D modeling and thereverse engineering of the decorative patterns.

There are three steps to the reverse engineering of the 3-D

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The cycle of product design hasbeen decreased to half of the 20–30days it would have taken usingconventional methods.

ConclusionResearch on CIM technology andsystems in ceramics enterprises isboth a technical and practical issue.It is significant to be able toenhance design, manufacture andmanagement systems while decreas-ing inventory and lead time fordelivery and increasing customersatisfaction.

A CIM system for ceramic prod-ucts has been built. It consists of theengineering design, managementinformation, reverse engineering,mold manufacturing, decal manu-facturing, product manufacturing,database and computer networksystem systems.

The integrated technology of themanagement information systemcan transmit and integrate thedynamic information of marketing,inventory, production, purchasingand finance in a timely manner.This aids in the efficient operationand management of a ceramicsenterprise.

The integrated CAD technologymakes it possible to design thewhiteware, decorative patterns,decorative porcelain and moldsconcurrently. The technology ofvirtual ceramic products showscustomers the final products beforeproduction and lays the foundationfor electronic commerce of ceram-ics.

Reverse engineering also plays animportant role in design of thecomplex curve surfaces and thedecorative patterns of ceramicproducts. Finally, the CIM technol-ogy and systems have been success-fully applied in a ceramicsenterprise. ■

AcknowledgmentsThis work was funded by The National HighTechnology R&D Project of China.

References1J. Orozco, “Product Design and Die

Manufacturing in the Porcelain IndustryUsing Computer Integrated Techniques,”Interceram, 47 [4] 242–45 (1998).

for the national feast and for

national gifts. The computer network, database, managementinformation, engineering design and reverse engineering sys-tems have been developed and implemented.

These systems are integrated and can transmit design andproduction data to workshops and decal factories. The computernetwork and database systems support operation of the manage-ment information, engineering design and reverse engineeringsystems.

The management information system has been applied in themarketing, finance, production, purchasing and inventorydepartments, making them automated and efficient.Communication and information transmission among thedepartments is convenient and rapid throughout the system.

Dynamic data of inventories of products (decorative porce-lain), the semi-products (whiteware) and the materials can beobtained simultaneously. Consequently, the marketing depart-ment can order precise quantities from the production depart-ment.

The production department can then calculate an exactproduction schedule and the demand for materials automati-cally.

It can send these to the workshops and the purchasing depart-ment separately. The purchasing department can calculate andorder precise quantities of material. The finance departmentalso can be apprised of this data and can calculate the financialdata promptly.

As a result of the application of this management informationsystem, the inventory has been reduced from $4.26 to $3.67million, and the average lead time for delivery has been short-ened from 20 to 10 days.

The engineering design system and the reverse engineeringsystem have been applied in the product development depart-ment, the mold workshop and some cooperative organizations.The designers design the whiteware, decorative patterns,decorative porcelain and molds concurrently, and then uploadthe virtual products on computers.

Virtual products are sent to customers via the Internet. Ifcustomers approve, the production process is planned. Thewhiteware data and molds will be used in manufacturing, andthe decorative patterns data will be transmitted to the decalfactories for printmaking and silkscreen printing.

If customers request changes, designers can convenientlymake modifications. For example, in September 1999, thecompany launched the new Millennium range. All products weredesigned and modified on computers.

American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 80, No. 3 31

Virtual products of the Millennium range. (l) coffee pot, (r) sugar bowl.

2Delcam plc, “Delcam ’s Power Solution,”http://www.delcam.com/, 1999.

3P. Dickin, “CAD/CAM at Wedgwood,” Am.Ceram. Soc. Bull., 72 [12] 71–74 (1993).

4Delcam plc, “Fast Track CeramicModeling—Creating a New Radical Design forRoyal Doulton,” http://www.delcam.com/info/info1.htm,1999.

5B. L. Griffiths, “Computer-Aided Designand Surface Pattern Decoration in WhitewareCeramics,” Br. Ceram. Trans., 94 [4] 169–70(1995).

6P. E. Helgesen, “Computer-Aided Designfor Ceramic Dinnerware,” Am. Ceram. Soc.Bull., 69 [1] 77–79 (1990).

7D. G. Cheshire, D. K. Harrison and P. W.Wormald, “Novel Techniques for TablewareDevelopment,” pp. 181–90 in Proceedings ofthe 3rd European Conference on RapidPrototyping and Manufacturing, Nottingham,England, 1994.

8A. Pareschi, “Automation Trends inModern Ceramic Industry,” Ceramurgia, 19[5] 167–74 (1989).

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Computer-Integrated Ceramics Manufacturing