<– Burnout –>
The chamotte molds take the shape of compact blocks once they have hardened. These blocks are loaded into a kiln coated with ceramic fibers. The temperature in the kiln is gradually increased to 300 degrees Celsius in order to prevent the formation of cracks in the chamotte.
The wax melts and flows out of the mold. It is this step that led to the term “lost wax process”. (Wax forms are so-called “lost forms” since they are destroyed, unlike permanent molds.) The wax is captured in a channel and re-used. The temperature is increased to round 700 degrees Celsius, and is maintained until all of the bound and free water in the chamotte mixture has evaporated.
The kiln made by the Kunstgiesserei is heated with gas. The smoke is drawn through catalyzers and pre-warms the air required by the gas burner in the chimney. This results in a substantially reduced used of gas.
The roof can be removed so that large molds can be placed in the kiln with a crane.
The inside of the kiln is nearly eight cubic meters in size. The firing of the chamotte molds takes place at intervals of two to three weeks when the kiln is full.
