Hark Eco-Plus
Reduces the firewood consumption and protects the environment!
Tile production - from the drawing through to the finished tile
The start of every tile is the model of the tile. The model is produced of plaster in time-consuming manual work according to the designs produced by the designers and modellers. This model is used as a foundation for the production of the devices from which the casting moulds of the tiles are then manufactured.
Westerwald clay
The casting moulds for the tiles originate from the devices by pouring plaster in. A ceramic mass from a mixture of Westerwald clays, known as slip, is poured into these moulds. In order to guarantee a constant quality of tiles, the composition of the casting mass is precisely checked before each casting process.
Manual work
After water has been removed from the casting mass over night by the casting mould, the raw tile, known as the body, can be taken out of the mould. These further working steps are also done exclusively in manual work. Our trained employees (we regularly train employees in specialised ceramic professions) clean the casting seams and the surface, check the angle of the edges and process the blank while it is still in this soft condition as a body.
Glaze preparation
In glaze preparation, the eight to ten components of a glaze are mixed with one another. For this, the individual components are mixed with water in a rotary drum grinder. The grinding process results in all the components achieving the same graining and being mixed to form a homogeneous glaze slip. We emphasise the fact that the tile glazes do not contain any chemical substances. All the components are pure natural products and environmentally compatible.
Even glaze application
After the drying process in the rocking dryer and a further check for accuracy of dimensions and surface quality, the raw tiles are glazed. The glazes mixed with water are applied in manual work with a spray gun. The application weight is checked by means of electronic scales and applied to the tile bodies evenly thanks to the skill of the spray gun operator.
Hand-painting
After glazing and a further subsequent check, the decorations requested by the customers are applied. In hand-painting, each motif is applied by our ceramic painters using self-developed paints and baked in the subsequent baking process.
Sealing of the glaze
As a result of ceramic baking at above 1,040°C in the tunnel kilns and shuttle kilns, the more than 80 different glazes and decorations are sealed and produce the unmistakeable, high-quality ceramic tiles.
Final check for quality assurance
After the stove tiles have cooled, further checks are held, amongst other things a sound test, with which the employee establishes whether there are any cracks in the tile body.
Permanent quality checks
Picking is a further working step in quality control. The products are examined for identity of colour, surface quality, size and formation of cracks. Colouring is a very sensitive working step as the tiles have been produced by using natural products. It is only the harmonious play of the colours which makes up the beauty of the tiled stove. An even appearance, as for example with tiled floors, is not intended and cannot be achieved with tiled fireplaces.
