Go Back Ceramic Materials in Synergy for the Production of Accessories for Household and Office Furniture Design and Construction

---

For several decades now, efforts have been made by various ceramics manufacturers all over the world to develop workable ceramic bodies from earth resources. These attempts have resulted in synergizing common clays with other minerals to produce useful products which serve both domestic and engineering purposes. The use of ceramic materials in developing functional products that replace steel and other metals in various functional capacities has continued to generate interest among researchers. The focus of this research is the blending of granite dust, kaolin and ball clay, so as to improve their physical and mechanical properties for use as support and load-bearing applications in the making of household and office furniture. Clay and granite dust were collected, processed and analysed independently. These were compounded at various ratios and the various bodies were analysed. Bodies with the best results were adopted for the production of various accessories and fittings for use in furniture design and construction. Results show that components meant for load-bearing applications successfully carried the weight of an entire settee without breaking or showing any sign of stress. Those serving aesthetic and other purposes also proved successful. It is found that ceramic materials, when properly formulated, can serve as alternatives to steel and aluminium that are currently in widespread use for the production of furniture accessories.