Many people would say that the economy is picking up—or at a minimum, no longer stagnant. As their businesses grow, ceramic manufacturers can choose to handle external and internal growth requirements in different ways.

Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques can trace their origin to the pioneering work of Debye and Scherrer in Europe (1916) and Hull in the U.S. (1917).1 Their results dispelled the belief that grinding a single crystal to a powder would destroy crystallinity.

The ceramic powder market is facing the same old challenges as it directly follows the demand for ceramic parts. Market pressures include the increasing use of plastics, glass, intermetallics and newer alloys.

The Ross VersaMix multi-shaft mixer is reportedly ideal for mixing pastes, creams and gel-type products, with the capabilities of powder dispersion, emulsification, dissolution, deagglomeration, homogenization, heating/cooling and deaeration.

Clays, chamottes and ceramics are used in various applications and must therefore comply with different levels of quality standards. In recent years, quality standards have gained in significance for the processing industry—and therefore for manufacturers of chamottes and ceramics as well.

New features are being offered on Ross ribbon blenders.

This process-specific NBE bulk bag unloader is engineered to withstand rigorous duty cycles.

Charles Ross & Son Co. now offers double planetary mixers in 4-, 5- and 10- and 25-gal models.