Ceramic Substrates and Components Blog

Blog migration

2014-12-11T16:59:00.002+00:00

As from today, our blog can be read here on our new website.

Feel to browse all our older posts as they will stay on Blogger for the time being.

Winter preparations

2014-11-11T12:04:00.001+00:00

It is that time of year whereby preparations for the winter months start. Heaters have all been serviced, by RG Combustion, this year's Engineer was Buddy, who we have to say is a credit to his employers. The Factory has the added bonus of the warmth that derives from the kilns, a bonus in the winter months, but definitely not the summer months!

Kilns are a type of oven, a thermally insulated chamber, producing temperatures that are sufficient to complete processes, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. The earliest known kiln dates back around 6000 BC, now a days they are either Electric or gas, with modern kilns often having advanced electrical systems to control the firing temperatures.

Kilns are an important process in the manufacture of our ceramics that require heat treatment. Often our kilns are set to high temperatures a process where chemical and physical reactions occur that permanently alter the unfired body. Before the ceramic is heat treated it is in its "green" state, it then undergoes heat-treatment also known as firing or sintering to produce a rigid, finished component.

Some applications may require further machining and/or polishing after firing in order to meet the customers' specific design criteria.

Below you will find examples of heat treated components in materials such as Steatites, Alumina and Pyrophyllite all manufactured on site from the mixing of the raw materials to the finished component.

Bespoke Ceramics

Lamp Caps

SteatiteComponents

Staff training,Recycling and Machinable Ceramics.

2014-10-16T15:22:00.001+01:00

Over the past month we have been busy in the factory, not only with fulfilling orders, but also implementing changes, Customer visits, staff training and stocking-up on our Machinable Ceramics.

As you may be aware from our previous blog our Quality Control and Inspection arrangements underwent radical changes, all part of our continuous program of investing and improving our production facilities. Jon and Ben our Senior CNC Engineers, underwent training at Mitutoyo regarding software for our new CMM.

As official Corning Macor distributors we always carry stock , we have just taken delivery of a new consignment, it is imperative that our stocks are kept replenished.

Our goal is always to meet customers specified requirements and expectations.

Traceability of material batches (Macor) can be provided if required.
We can offer you a CMM report with your components by arrangement.

MGC is one of the most versatile and unique technical ceramics available. Ceramic Substrates and Components Limited has been an official “Corning” Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic distributor and supplier for over ten years and as you would expect from a highly-respected UK Distributor, we have a wealth of experience and capabilities in machining Macor, along with the knowledge of the material’s suitability for your application.

We can supply a small material sample for your own evaluation,
please contact us with your details and we shall post accordingly.

We have received our certification of Agricultural Plastic Waste Recycling for the year October 2013 to September 2014.

Here are Ceramic Substrates we aim to demonstrate a positive environmental approach and the plastic waste is just one of many steps we take for a re-use and re-cycle foundation. Our Environmental policy is always available for customers to peruse.

Quality Control

2014-09-21T12:07:00.000+01:00

Quality Control

We have been upgrading and improving our in-house systems and equipment for the Quality Control of our products.

During the review process we decided to create a dedicated temperature controlled clean room for the storage and use of our measuring equipment.

The equipment review resulted in us choosing Mitutoyo as our preferred supplier of measuring and inspection equipment. They are renowned Worldwide for the quality & reliability of their measuring equipment. We assessed our present and future requirements and selected a Miyutoyo PJ-A3000 with a 50X & 100X lens and fixtures as our non-contact measuring choice.

Our next decision was to select the best Co-Ordinate Measuring Machine suited our needs and applications, the decision was a Mitutoyo Crysta-Plus M443 as the size, versatility and software was deemed a perfect match for our needs. We also identified that the upgraded Renishaw MH20i probe system would meet our needs.

We have used for many years “standard” digital measuring equipment from Mitutoyo.

We were pleased to welcome Trevor Stubbs, the technical representative from Mitutoyo UK to formally hand over the new equipment to our Director, Andrew Starnes. He also provided on-site advice although two of our engineers have attended a one on one training course at Mitutoyo UK’s Andover headquarters to ensure we are able to use the machine and software to its full potential.

We welcome new and existing customers to visit our works to see this room and the rest of our facility.

Pyrophyllite

2014-08-22T09:33:00.000+01:00

This week Ceramic Substrates took delivery of another 10 tonnes of Pyrophyllite for conversion into Ceramit 10 and 14. Ceramit 10/14 is a machinable mineral which, after heat treatment, assumes many of the properties of fired Ceramics, it is ideal for prototypes, experimental and pilot scale productions where high accuracy is required on small parts. We often also manufacture the production quantities. The mineral's name is Pyrophyllite (Aluminium Silicate). In the natural state, Pyrophyllite can be turned; milled; drilled; tapped; filed and sawn. Ceramit 10/14 can be heat treated in two ways, each yielding totally different characteristics, the first stage is to decide which of the processes suits the application.

Pyrophyllite always in stock at CSC

Also this week I had a browse through the Invest in the Isle of Wight website and came across an interesting read; South Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have the potential to deliver sustainable economic growth for the UK economy. The strategy for growth is based on the need to make the best use of our outstanding assets of highly-skilled people, world-class businesses, land for development and world leading higher education establishments.

Since 2008 the area has witnessed strong private sector jobs growth driven by the development of more knowledge based industries and high value advanced manufacturing. Strategic sectors include - marine, aerospace, defence-related industries, advanced manufacturing, transport and logistics. 7 out of the top 10 global aerospace companies operate from the area. Southampton Airport services approximately 43 European destinations, the Port of Southampton is one of the largest in the UK and the University of Southampton is one of only 19 UK universities to be ranked among the top 100 in the world.

Summer holidays

2014-07-30T12:34:00.002+01:00

The Summer holidays are in full swing and recently I noticed that some manufacturing companies still carry on with the traditional summer shutdown.

Summer shutdowns within the UK were predominantly specific to the world of manufacturing. Factory fortnights were common in towns with closely interlinked supply chains and probably peaked in the 1950s. There were even some co-ordinated regional shut downs where individual towns took turns to make sure one manufacturer was still open.

Although factory fortnights (summer shutdowns) have largely died out in the UK, we still pick up echoes of it. However, you still hear of it within Europe over the July and August period.

So, the summer holidays are upon us and obviously staff like to take time off to enjoy the summer weather and be with their families. Here at Ceramic Substrates the Team work their time off around each other so we can continue to operate with no adverse effect on the day to day running of the Factory, manufacturing our Customer orders on time and to the high specification/quality they are accustomed too, occasionally with slightly longer lead times.

World famous sailing regatta Cowes Week starting this weekend

The temperatures over the last couple of weeks have been a little on the warm side, so we all take a short break in the afternoon with a well deserved ice cream/lolly.

We have also been working hard on a new facility within the factory, which we hope to have up and running by the end of the summer holiday period and we are all very excited. Unfortunately I cannot let the cat out of the bag just yet? but all shall be explained soon?

In the meantime, we are here to assist with your sales and technical enquiries.
We wish you all a pleasant summer break and if holidaying on the Isle of Wight, you will always be welcome at Ceramic Substrates.

Machinable Ceramics

2014-06-23T17:05:00.001+01:00

As we mentioned in our last blog, one of the most popular Ceramics of this day and age is Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic, however there are various others with their own physical properties and characteristics. Below is a list of the most popular machinable ceramics available:-

Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic - MACOR® machinable glass ceramic is renowned worldwide within a wide range of industrial applications. MACOR® gives the performance of a technical ceramic with the versatility of a high-performance polymer. Macor® (machinable glass ceramic) has a continuous use temperature of 800°C and a peak temperature of 1000°C. Its coefficient of thermal expansion readily matches most metals and sealing glasses. It is non-wetting, exhibits zero porosity, and unlike ductile materials, will not deform. It is an excellent insulator at high voltages, various frequencies and high temperatures. And, when properly baked out, it will not outgas in vacuum environments. Characteristics of Macor; Excellent electrical properties, Sealing, joining and metalising, High temperatures, radiation resistant, low thermal conductivity.

Pyrophyllite Ceramit 10/14 is a machinable mineral which, after heat treatment, assumes many of the properties of fired Ceramics, it is ideal for prototypes, experimental and pilot scale productions where high accuracy is required on small parts. The mineral's name is Pyrophyllite (Aluminium Silicate). Pyrophyllite comes in three different states: Pyrophyllite Natural, Pyrophyllite Ceramit 10 and Pyrophyllite Ceramit 14. In the natural state, Pyrophyllite can be turned; milled; drilled; tapped; filed and sawn. Ceramit 10/14 can be heat treated in two ways, each yielding totally different characteristics, the first stage is to decide which of the processes suits the application.

Shapal Hi M Soft - SHAPAL™Hi-M soft is a machinable grade of Aluminium Nitride and combines a high thermal conductivity with a high mechanical strength with bending strengths of 30 Kg/m. Tight tolerance components can be machined from Shapal using a wide range of techniques, such as grinding, drilling, turning and milling Characteristics of Shapal Hi M Soft; Excellent Machinability, High Thermal Conductivity, High Mechanical Strength, Excellent Electrical Insulation, Low Thermal Expansion, Low dielectric loss, excellent high temperature properties.

BNP-2 - BNP 2 has been developed as a direct alternative to Shapal and has all but identical properties to that of Shapal. BNP-2 should be machined and treated in exactly the same way as Shapal. BNP-2 offers both high mechanical strength and thermal conductivity. The material has a composite sintered body of AlN and BN. High precision tight tolerance components can be machined using a wide range of techniques including drilling, grinding, turning and milling.BNP 2 maintains a low dielectric loss and also has an ultra high purity level.

Graphite - is resistant to thermal shock, the mechanical properties increase with temperature. Graphite has many advantages; It is easy to machine, it is very resistant to thermal shock, It has a low coefficient of thermal expansion which guarantees stability of electrode geometry during electro discharge machining and its density is 5 times lower than that of copper, which results in lighter electrodes.

Duratec - is a high-density versatile engineering material in Calcium silicate.
It is non-combustible and operates in electrical & thermal environments up to 1000°C. Available in 2 grades: Duratec 1000 exhibits low shrinkage, Duratec 750 exhibits higher strength. The strength of Duratec is substantially maintained at maximum temperature, Duratec 750 actually increasing in strength at elevated temperatures.

Boron Nitride - Boron Nitride is a synthetic technical ceramic material, which is available in powder, solid, aerosol and liquid forms. In solid form it can be machined easily with ordinary metalworking tools. Boron Nitride has out-standing thermal characteristics; high thermal conductivity and excellent thermal shock resistance. Applications; Electrical insulators, Crucibles and reaction vessels, Moulds and evaporating boats, Hot isostatic pressing, Machine tools and abrasives, Substrates for electronic devices and Wear resistant coatings.

For further information of the above Machinable Ceramics or any of the materials and precision engineering services that we offer please do not hesitate to contact us:

Telephone 00 44 (0) 1983 528697 - Email info@ceramic-substrates.co.uk - Fax 00 44 (0) 1983 822252.

Back to work for CSC after the Isle of Wight Festival

2014-06-16T10:47:00.000+01:00

After a hectic weekend here on the Isle of Wight, mainly due to the Isle of Wight Festival, we have all returned to work ready for a busy week ahead. Several members of the Team attended this year's festival and at tea break we were all discussing our favorite band and performance. Quite a wide and diverse range of music was liked by each of us.

We have our ISO Auditors on site this week for our annual inspection, SGS United Kingdom Ltd, ISO 9001:2008 is based on eight quality management principles:

Customer focus
Leadership
Involvement of people
Process approach
System approach
Continual improvement
Fact-based decision making, and
Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

ISO certification is very important to Ceramic Substrates and a major part of our Quality Policy and Procedure.

One of the most popular Ceramic's of this day and age is Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic, the demand for precision engineered components from Macor has grown significantly over the years.

Ceramic Substrates and Components Limited has been an official “Corning” Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic distributor and supplier for over ten years. We have noticed significant increase in demand over the last five years and for this reason we now have a dedicated Macor website macor.info. We have a wealth of expertise and capabilities with machining Macor, along with the knowledge of the material’s suitability for your application.

Macor Glass Ceramic Components

As an official UK Macor® distributor we always have Macor in stock and all relevant paperwork/certificate of conformities for traceability and compliance are readily available.

A typical Maxi-slabof Macor Glass Ceramic, or MGC as it is sometimes called, has approximate dimensions of 355x330mm by 57mm max thickness. Another form of Macor is a slug which is approximately 75-76mm Ø x 305mm Long. All components, shapes and sizes are machined from either a maxi-slab or a slug.

As an official UK Macor® distributor we always have Macor in stock and all relevant paperwork/certificate of conformities for traceability and compliance are readily available.

Corning Macor Maxi-Slab

Macor Bar

We are also on Twitter and if you like up to date information about us, follow us @ceramicsub.

Comings and goings this week at CSC

2014-05-31T19:22:00.000+01:00

We have seen a lot of comings and goings this week; Lee, the Hurco Engineer has been on site carrying out the servicing and calibration of our machines.

Action shot; Hurco Lee hard at work

WightMaterial Handling came on Wednesday to inspect and service our Forklift Truck. Haylands Farm swung by to collect our "aluminium can waste" to which they recycle to raise funds for the charity and not forgetting the all important customer visits to our Factory.

Our Engineers and Operatives have been extremely busy making sure all orders are dispatched on time following product inspection.

It is the established policy of Ceramic Substrates to provide for its customers products that are manufactured to the highest degree of skill required for their intended purpose, delivered promptly, at the right price and in accordance with contractual requirements.

The company has built its reputation on the quality of service, which our clients have come to expect. Ceramic Substrates and Components Ltd aim not only to maintain this reputation but also to continually improve it and the products produced.

As manufacturers of technical ceramics, we have a selection of machinable materials such as: MACOR Machinable Glass Ceramic, SHAPAL Hi-M SOFT, BORON NITRIDE, DURATEC and PYROPHYLLITE (Aluminium Silicate for high temperature or higher wear applications.

In addition to machinables, we offer a complete 'in house' tooling service for full production runs in a range of materials including different types of refractories, Steatites, various grades and types of Alumina.

With a team of hard working engineers, Ceramic Substrates and Components Ltd has a professional team, of qualified engineers, toolmakers and CNC specialists all on hand to assist and advise you with your application needs. The company recognizes the vital importance of our customers. The goal of customer satisfaction requires us to be flexible in accommodating our customers' needs and to respond promptly and consistently to them.

New addition Tooling Department

2014-05-09T18:00:00.000+01:00

This week saw a new addition to our Team. Richard has joined the Tooling Department to work alongside Chris.

Richard on the Left and Chris on the Right

Richard comes from a mechanical engineering background. He gained his BTec Engineering qualifications from Highbury College in Portsmouth and has worked within the Engineering sector ever since. Richard has many talents within the Engineering Industry and is looking forward to his new challenge here at Ceramic Substrates.

We have had another week with visitors to our Factory. One particular customer came to discuss the suitability of Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic and to see a demonstration by our CNC Engineers on the machining process.
When visitors are on site at Ceramic Substrates, after they have signed in they are issued with a "Visitors Guide to Health and Safety on Site".
Here at Ceramic Substrates we are committed to providing a healthy and safe work environment for all our employees and visitors alike.

Taking measure

2014-05-02T18:39:00.000+01:00

We have had a very interesting week at Ceramic Substrates and of course yesterday I was out of the office visiting a customer.
It is always good to put a face to the person you so often speak with on the telephone. It was interesting to see the final application for the component we manufacture.

After my meeting I travelled to Nottingham to view a CMM Machine we are considering adding to our Quality and inspection equipment. Today's manufacturing demands more accuracy, speed and functionality from measuring technologies and CMM machines play an important role within the inspection process.

"A coordinate measuring machine is a device for measuring the physical geometrical characteristics of an object. Measurements are defined by a probe attached to the third moving axis of this machine. Probes may be mechanical, optical, laser, or white light, amongst others. A machine which takes readings in six degrees of freedom and displays these readings in mathematical form is known as a CMM."

The Tooling Engineers have been busy setting machines ready for production runs of Steatites and refractories and one particular job we have running at the moment is an extremely intricate component. Our CNC Engineers often work with intricate and minuscule components and new R & D projects sometimes present their own challenges but the sense of achievement is always worthwhile.

Not only do we manufacture our own ceramic materials (steatites, porcelains, refectories) and machine components from machinable ceramics such as Macor, Shapal Hi M Soft, BNP-2, Pyrophyllite, Boron Nitride, Duratec and Graphite we also machine free issue materials supplied by the customer.

Behind the scenes at Ceramic Substrates this week

2014-04-17T14:52:00.000+01:00

Being a four day week due to the upcoming bank holiday Easter weekend, the team have been working industriously to fulfil our customers orders.

We have enjoyed showing our factory to a couple of visitors this week, one of which has an R & D project for Macor MachinableGlass Ceramic and the other involving tooling and pressed Steatite components. We believe that for a customer to see how their components are made, it helps them to understand the process and the different stages used to produce their components.

We are very proud to be Manufacturers of Ceramic materials and precision engineered components with over 46 years of experience and expertise.

It is also the time of year where Ceramic Substrates take delivery of their new staff T-Shirts ready for the warm days ahead. Rob our Charge-hand was very happy to model this year's version.

Part of the Ceramic Substrates Environmental Policy is about recycling and this week saw the collection of our carbide tooling waste by Alchemy Metals Limited

WightFire & Security a local company have been in and carried out their inspection of our fire extinguishers. Wight Fire maintain and inspect all our Fire protection equipment, which we all know is very important.

What is happening this week at Ceramic Substrates & Components Ltd

2014-04-03T19:37:00.000+01:00

We have been extremely busy here at Ceramic Substrates this week, with all departments hard at work. Deliveries of raw materials from which we make our Steatites and Porcelain in our own Materials Preparation Room, commonly known within the Factory as our Powder Room. Our Tool Room have been working on tooling for new components, also setting the presses to run components that are ordered on a regular basis. Our CNC team, have had all their Lathes and Mills running, machining Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic, Shapal Hi M Soft, BNP-2, Pyrophyllite and Duratec to customer specifications.

We also saw the arrival of a new addition to our Quality/Inspection equipment, a Mitutoyo Profile Projector. This is a benchtop profile projector based on a vertical beam, telecentric optical system for distortion-free viewing on a 315mm diameter projector screen. The measuring stage incorporates linear scales for fast and accurate linear measurement to 1µm/.0001”, with angle measurements on screen to a resolution of 1’/0.01° of arc. Built-in digital readout of XY position and angle (including zero-setting, ABS/INC mode measurement) is located near the projection screen to minimize eye movement.

Mitutoyo Profile Projector

Today we have a Customer visit to discuss various applications, our ISO procedure and a tour of our Factory. We are always very proud to show our Plant in operation and a step by step guide to our Customers on how their components are manufactured from our own materials or machined from a machinable ceramic.

UK Manufacturing

2014-03-28T17:52:00.000+00:00

As quoted by the CBI "The UK" is a leading global manufacturer and manufacturing in the UK employs over two million people, contributes £140bn to the UK’s economy each year. Businesses need to work together with the Government to place manufacturing at the forefront of rebalancing the economy, creating a strong and sustainable, internationally competitive industrial base.

Activity in the UK manufacturing sector remained robust in March and overall demand continued to rise."

We feel that within the industry there has been a positive start to 2014 and hope the UK manufacturing remains strong and continues to grow.

Here at Ceramic Substrates we are very lucky to have a loyal time-honoured Team of employees, many being with us for over ten years.

This week, has seen the start of the interviews for an additional Time Served Engineer/Tool Maker to work alongside Chris Gibson.

The selection of candidates have been working within the manufacturing environment for various industries, so hopefully in weeks to come we shall be introducing you to our new team member.

It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of March, and this weekend sees the start of our British Summer time.

We are all looking forward to the lighter evenings and getting out and about on our lovely Island, Fishing, Long boarding, Kayaking, paragliding and even horse riding, it is amazing all the different hobbies our team of employees participate in.

Contact

Laser Cut Substrates

2014-03-19T12:04:00.000+00:00

Laser Cutting of thin Alumina Ceramic is a fast, flexible and cost effective method of machining. Lasers are an outstanding choice for drilling very small holes and cutting delicate patterns.

Laser scribing uses a series of pulsed laser energy to score the surface which can then be subsequently snapped. Laser machining uses a powerful focused laser light beam as a heat source to melt and vaporize material in its path, resulting in a very narrow and consistent path thru the ceramic substrate to form any desired shape. Laser drilling is the process of repeatedly pulsing focused laser energy at the ceramic, vaporizing layers until a thru-hole is created.

Examples of Laser Cut Substrates

We offer three types of ceramics via this process 96% and 99.6% Alumina and Aluminium Nitride.

For more information regarding Laser Cut Substrates visit our website or contact us direct
e-mail info@ceramic-substrates.co.uk

Ceramic Substrates and Corning

2014-02-20T15:02:00.000+00:00

Here at Ceramic Substrates we are very proud to be an Official Corning Macor Distributor and enjoy the association of working closely with their Sales and Marketing Team here in the UK and France.

This week was no exception when Steve and Franck, paid us a visit to discuss new materials and the marketing strategy for the forthcoming year.

We were pleased to hear about possible new materials and the probable new forming of Macor, other than the existing Macor Maxi-slab.

Director Andrew Starnes (left) with Steve and Franck

More information to follow when available, watch this space.

MacorMachinable Glass Ceramic was developed and manufactured by Corning Incorporated for use in the NASA space shuttle space program. After an extensive testing program by NASA and UCLA it became clear that Macor was more suitable than Silica Glass, Boron Nitride (BN) and Silicon Nitride in certain components and applications.

Corningas the world leader in speciality glasses, hold the same values as Ceramic Substrates, Quality, integrity, performance, leadership, innovation and we are proud to work in partnership with them.

A busy week at Ceramic Substrates, on and off site

2014-02-14T15:04:00.000+00:00

Our new website has been up and running for just over a week and all the teething problems associated with the changeover are starting to settle. Google bots, a web crawler that finds and fetches web pages and the indexer that sorts every word on every page and stores the resulting index of words in a huge database are hard at work.

Yesterday we visited the Southern Manufacturing Exhibition to meet up with several of our Suppliers, usually Ceramic Substrates have their own stand, but we chose to support the recently established Northern Manufacturing Exhibition which took place in Manchester.

On our rounds at the Southern Manufacturing Show, it would appear that the list of Exhibitors participating has grown vastly over the last couple of years. However, yesterday we had the added bonus of a claim to fame and that was meeting Martin "Wolfie" Adams he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion.

Martin Adams at the Southern Manufacturing Exhibition

We are always very proud to show our plant and our range of products and services that we manufacture on site to customers. When you manufacture in-house, quality and tight tolerances are easier to control, coupled with short delivery times. If you visit our factory and see for yourself components being made you know that you are supporting a UK Manufacturer.

Corning Macor Glass Ceramic

Our doors are always open to visitors and our Engineers are happy to discuss applications/designs and show the manufacturing process of your component from start to finish.
The choice of ceramic materials is vast, whether it be machinables such as Macor, Pyrophyllite, Shapal Hi-M Soft, Duratec, or pressed/extruded materials such as Steatites, Aluminas and refractories.

The team at Ceramic Substrates look forward to welcoming you to our Factory.

New website Ceramic Substrates and Components Ltd.

2014-02-06T13:52:00.001+00:00

Following months of preparation, hard work and dedication Ceramic Substrates are delighted to officially announce the launch of our newly designed website.

Ceramic Substrates main goal was to build a user-friendly and simple to navigate site. Our new innovative website will present more functionality and allows the users to quickly find the contents.

So, whether you are “just looking” or seeking more specific details, we are here to assist with your application and strive to give the most updated information on our products and services.

We hope that you will enjoy browsing our new site, finding more options and information each time, and that it will be yet another tool for strengthening our marketing structure.

Try our new website today www.ceramic-substrates.co.uk

If you would like to see any additions to our site suggestions are always welcome.

We would like to say thank you to the team at We3Create for all their help and creativity throughout this project.

We also operate a "sister" website macor.info that is all about Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic. Ceramic Substrates are official Corning Macor Distributors.

Ceramic Substrates and Components Ltd outlook 2014

2014-01-13T13:48:00.001+00:00

Following the New Year celebrations, we have now been back to work for a couple of weeks.

All departments within our factory are working vigorously manufacturing a wide range of components for shipment worldwide.

Several potential big projects have landed on my desk since the 1st January. These projects involve in-depth consultations and visits to the Customer, with my Tool Maker and Production Manager, to assist with the implementation of Ceramic components within the customer's application.

Chris our Senior Tool Maker is already working on designs for the manufacture of the Tool, ascertaining the tolerances that will work with not only the tool but the relevant Press that will produce the component and once fired in the kiln will still be within the size specification. These projects are very interesting and a great challenge for the Team.

We have a few exciting changes that will take place over the next month or so to which I will leave you in suspense but all will be revealed soon.

In the meantime we wish all our Customers a prosperous New Year and look forward to being of further assistance.

Celebrations and Christmas Shutdown notice

2013-12-18T11:25:00.000+00:00

Last weekend was our staff Christmas Party. This year the majority voted for something a little different so we settled on Indian cuisine. Bengal Palace in Shide, Isle of Wight was the chosen venue for many of the team often go there with friends and family.

The Food, Host and service were all perfect and a good evening was had by all and a few fuzzy heads the next day.

Another celebration has been the birth of Rob (our Charge hand) and his wife Liza's baby daughter Evie. Mother and daughter are doing well and Rob has taken Paternity Leave to enjoy this special time. Congratulations to them both.

Roger one of our Miller/Turners, at the young age of 68 has decided to hang up his vernier and retire. Roger has been with us for just over 18 years working within our machinable section, predominately with our Pyrophyllite material. It is a sad farewell but we wish Roger a long and happy retirement.

May we also take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Ceramic Substrates will be closed for the Christmas and New Year Holiday period, from Midday Friday 20 December 2013 to 7.30am 2 January 2014, during which time no emails will be acknowledged.

Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic

2013-12-11T12:24:00.000+00:00

It has been a busy week in and out of the office. The first part of the week I was on the road visiting customers and now I am back in the office working my way through paperwork.

All departments are working flat out to complete the December orders before our Christmas shutdown on the 20 December.

Our machinable department have finished a very interesting piece, as you can see it is like a tower.

Start Macor assemble

Finished Macor Component

This tower is made up of several components which all slot together. The material used is Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic.

When you need the performance of a technical ceramic- (high service temperature, electrical resistivity, zero porosity) – and your application demands the ready fabrication of a complicated shape look at Macor.

Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic was developed and manufactured by Corning Incorporated and Ceramic Substrates & Components Limited are an Official Corning Macor Distributors.

Visit our specialist Macor website macor.info or contact us on info@ceramic-substrates.co.uk

Dry Pressing Ceramics at Ceramic Substrates and Components Ltd.

2013-11-21T11:16:00.000+00:00

Dry Pressing Ceramics - a procedure we use here at Ceramic Substrates, whereby the raw material such as Steatites, Refractories and Aluminas are blended in our own material room. Dry pressed ceramics require tooling, the tooling consists of a die in the outside profile shape of your component with a top and bottom punch. Because we blend our raw materials onsite and have our own fully equipped Tool Room we are able to control any alterations/changes that may be required throughout the process.

Ceramic Substrates are a leading manufacturer of a wide range of high voltage lamp caps used in ultra violet and infra red applications. Many of these caps are produced via our dry pressing method. We supply most leading lamp manufacturers.

Many shapes and sizes can be produced by Dry Pressing and it tends to be an economical way of manufacturing Precision Engineered Ceramic Components.

For more information about our range of Industrial Ceramics including lamp caps please

Winter is coming

2013-11-08T12:38:00.000+00:00

Happy faces as we head into the Winter Season, all heaters have had their annual service and are ready to keep us all warm on cold winter days, thank you RG Combustion.

Servicing and maintenance of all our equipment throughout the offices and factory is high on our schedule to maintain a safe working environment. The team in the factory appreciate the Kilns in the cold wet months for their extra warmth. This week like all others our Kilns are firing many components from various materials such as Steatite, Alumina, R197 Refractory and Pyrophyllite Aluminium Silicate.

Our Tool Makers have been working on several projects this week and one of those is for a very small component which is to be made from Steatite (pictures to follow). The tooling for this job is now completed and they are currently working on samples before the production run. This component is produced by dry pressing on uniaxial presses.

The tooling consists of a die in the profile shape of your component with a top and bottom punch with any surface features, spark eroded or ground then polished into faces. Many shapes and sizes can be produced by this method and it tends to be an extremely economical way of manufacturing in volumes.

We offer a wide range of Machinable Ceramics, Macor Machinable Glass Ceramic, Aluminium Nitride Shapal Hi M Soft and BNP-2, Pyrophyllite, Duratec and Boron Nitride all of which offer their own unique characteristics to suit various applications.

Our CNC Engineers are always happy to help our customers with questions on machining techniques and our Technical Team can advise the most suitable Machinable Ceramic for your purpose.

Introducing our latest team member Paul

2013-10-16T19:49:00.002+01:00

As you may have read in our last blog, we have been able to offer two new job opportunities within our company.

Our latest team member "Paul" joined Ceramic Substrates on Monday 14 October.

Paul's history of work over the past twenty five years covers various trades. However, he has always looked to improve, finding new challenges to adapt his work skills to the job in hand.

As a UK Manufacturer, Ceramic Substrates small but committed team are proud to deliver quality technical ceramic components globally.

Paul's job as a Factory Operative will include duties in our dry pressing
department but also loading kilns and quality control.
Paul will undergo full training in the coming months.

After a quick chat with Paul, we have found out that he is not only happy to find full time employment at Ceramic Substrates, but his daughter is even happier, for Paul's promise to support her wedding fund becomes a reality, for the big day is in 18 months time.

Paul working with industrial ceramics

For now Paul will be working for Sean and Rob covering various positions within the factory, enabling him to become familiar with all the materials and processes of our production line of industrial ceramics.

Workforce expansion and Northern Manufacturing review

2013-10-11T18:42:00.000+01:00

Last week's Northern Manufacturing and Electronics Exhibition was a very interesting experience, meeting our Northern based customers on our stand for a chat. We had many interesting discussions regarding the world of industrial ceramics and the state of manufacturing in the north of the UK.
Also, making new contacts, receiving enquiries and positive feedback from various sectors.
Our Macor maxi-slab was lifted by many to see how heavy it was, maybe next time we will attach a guess the weight competition.
Macor Glass Ceramic made by Corning is of course a very popular machinable ceramic, but we carry a vast range of technical ceramics as can be seen on our website.
We are also happy to announce that due to the hard work from all of the team at Ceramic Substrates this has resulted in an expanding customers base.
With this positive news and going forward as a company we have been able to create two more new job opportunities at Ceramic Substrates and Components Ltd.
After placing an ad and a long selection process these positions have now been filled by local island people, David who started this week and Paul will be joining us Monday 14 October.

David in our packing area under the watchful eye of Sean.

David was born on the Isle of Wight and has worked for other local manufacturing companies on the Island. David's position is a General Factory Operative working under Sean our Production Manager. Over the coming weeks David will receive in-house training from Sean and our Charge Hand Rob. David is the proud father of a young family and in this instance we could provide him with the opportunity to work around the school hours of his children, so he and his wife can both work.
At Ceramic Substrates we try to accommodate working hours where we can, depending on the position in our team.
We have some interesting projects we are working on at the moment and
we will keep you up dated with the latest developments where and when we can.