The porcelain process mainly includes billet making, firing, decoration and other links. The details are as follows:
Billet making: Billet making is the first step in ceramic making, which involves molding the clay into the desired shape of the porcelain. Common billet making methods include blank drawing, billet and so on. Blank drawing is to place the mud on the rotating wheel, and use the force of rotation and hand skills to pull the mud into the expected shape, such as plates, bowls and other round utensils.
Firing: Firing refers to putting the formed porcelain body into the kiln, heating it at high temperature to harden it and have a certain strength and hardness. Different technologies and methods may be used in the firing process, such as pressureless sintering, pneumatic sintering, hot pressure sintering, hot isostatic pressure sintering, discharge plasma sintering, microwave sintering, self-propagating sintering, etc.
Decoration: The decorative process of porcelain includes overglaze and underglaze. Overglaze painting refers to painting on a glaze that has already been fired, and then firing at a lower temperature to fix the paint on the glaze. Underglaze painting, on the other hand, is painted on the body under the glaze, then covered with a layer of transparent or translucent glaze, and then fired at high temperatures. In addition, there is a "doucai" decoration that combines underglaze blue and white with overglaze colors.
Other processesIn addition to the above-mentioned main links, the production of porcelain also includes a variety of processes such as grinding, carving, and hollowing. These processes can be selected and used according to the design requirements and the needs of artistic effects.
Porcelain craftsmanship is a complex process that involves multiple techniques and steps. The completion of each piece of porcelain requires careful design and intricate manual work. In China, especially Jingdezhen, porcelain production has a long history and rich cultural connotation, known as the "porcelain capital", and its handmade porcelain technology is world-famous.