Silicon Carbide Kiln Shelves

Silicon carbide kiln shelves (also referred to as batts or plates) are produced in large hydraulic presses to extremely accurate tolerances for flatness and flatness, offering superior mechanical strength at high temperatures. They offer great wear resistance with very tight tolerances.

Thicker, stronger nitride-bonded shelves are more resistant to warping, and rated for much higher temperature ranges compared to conventional oxide bonded shelves. Their reduced mass also helps kiln owners save energy, speed up heating/cooling cycles, and enhance overall kiln efficiency.

Nitride-Bonded

Nitride-bonded silicon carbide is a revolutionary refractory material with superior thermal, mechanical, and wear resistance properties. This material can be created through reacting silicon carbide with Si3N4 to form its secondary phase in an electric furnace with very accurate temperatures and pressures allowing production of complex shapes with high performance shelves being possible.

This material is both strong and thermally efficient, which will result in significant savings on energy costs for your kiln. Furthermore, its good abrasion resistance makes it suitable for heavy loads without incurring damage, making it the perfect material for shelves in kilns.

Nitride-bonded silicon carbide differs significantly from standard silicon carbide in that it is less susceptible to corrosion, chemical attack and impact damage, with excellent resistance against brittle cracking. Furthermore, it has better friction and abrasion resistance – depending on its grain size and distribution of reinforcing phase grains – than other forms of silicon carbide.

Nitride-bonded silicon carbide shelves are 19 times stronger and 50% lighter than their cordierite-based counterparts, not to mention they feature expansion slits to help ease stress during firing and prevent breakage. When receiving new shelves make sure you thoroughly clean them upon receipt to remove any fine silicon carbide grit that may have abraded during transport and ensure they remain flat as use occurs.

ADVANCER®

Advancer by The Ceramic Shop is an incredible silicon carbide shelf, 19 times stronger and 50% lighter than standard 1-inch thick cordierite shelves, as well as designed to remain flat under repeated firings or heavy loads – not warping or warping! Ideal for electric, gas and soda firing applications!

These fibers offer low mass and great thermal properties, which result in shorter firing cycles to save energy and costs, with almost zero porosity requiring less cleanup after firing and less kiln washing needed for cleanup.

Due to their fine grain sizing and low surface porosity, these shelves are extremely glaze resistant with an extremely low permeability rate (less than one percent). This makes it difficult for glaze to penetrate its surface.

The Ceramic Shop is proud to provide advanced kiln shelves at an unbeatably competitive cost compared to Crystolon alternatives, while remaining moisture resistant – something Crystolon cannot do due to prolonged moisture penetration causing catastrophic failure when heating up a kiln. The one downside: long term moisture penetration could result in catastrophic failure during heat up processes of your kiln.

As with any powered equipment, following common sense rules and precautions to minimise injuries to people or damage to property can help minimize risk. Before reaching into a kiln to inspect or clean it, ensure the power is off first!

LO-MASS®

These silicon carbide kiln shelves are 19 times stronger and 50% lighter than cordierite shelves, yet remain flat while in use, preventing warping even under heavy loads and multiple firings. Rated to cone 16, these kiln shelves are suitable for gas, soda and electric kilns.

LO-MASS kiln shelves’ lightweight design helps ceramic manufacturers meet financial performance objectives by lowering energy consumption, increasing throughput rates and eliminating the need for regular replacement or maintenance of traditional refractory components such as cordierite-based furniture. Furthermore, these shelf products help minimize waste generated during ceramic production processes through more efficient handling and transport of raw materials and finished ware.

Select a silicon carbide shelf suitable for your kiln and application by considering temperature rating, weight of ware being fired and firing method when selecting thickness. Thicker shelves tend to work better for mid to high-temperature oxidation/reduction firings while they also help prevent contamination through kiln wash contamination.

Keep your silicon carbide kiln shelves dry to protect their integrity, and wipe down their edges and surfaces prior to firing to remove any dust or grit that has accumulated during shipping and storage. In addition, clean the shelves before every glaze firing in order to reduce sticking glaze, but if any does stick you should apply a thin coating of kiln wash or use stilts to remove your pot from the kiln.

NSiC®

ADVANCER(r) shelves come in eight and 10-sided shapes that fit most top loading electric kilns (full and half rounds). Their lightweight construction helps save energy with shorter firing cycles while protecting pottery integrity. Their lower mass and thermal conductivity allow them to be stacked closer together; at 5/16″, six ADVANCER shelves fit where five cordierite shelves would take up 20% more space in your kiln!

NSiC(r) is a porous SiC refractory material with up to 15% porosity (1% open porosity), chemically stable due to the silicon nitride matrix and strong wear and thermal shock resistance, capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1,450degC while offering superior corrosion, oxidation and fatigue resistance compared to Oxide Bonded SiC. Ideal applications for this refractory include ceramic shuttle kilns, tunnel kilns and roller kilns in addition to nonferrous metal smelters smelters as well as furnace linings such as nonferous metal smelters ceramic sintering furnaces enamel rotary kilns and glass annealing furnaces.

we provide all major types of silicon carbide components, such as batts, blocks and plates made of both nitride-bonded and recrystallised SiC material to meet diverse customer demands. our primary advantage lies in our excellent load-bearing capacity even at elevated temperatures combined with their extreme hardness, abrasion resistance and chemical stability for low creep rates and load bearing capacities at elevated temperatures.