Hydraulic tiles
May 11, 2015 2:34 PM Subscribe
A short video showing how hand made hydraulic tiles (i.e. encaustic cement tiles, Cuban tiles, mosaicos hydraulica, etc.) are made (with a hydraulic press as opposed to heat)
Wiki
Wiki
According to the comments the sounds were added in after the video was made. I love the idea of someone saying, 'hmm I need a sifting sound here'.
posted by Carillon at 3:20 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by Carillon at 3:20 PM on May 11, 2015
I've seen these so many times and never understood what I was looking at. I shall look at them in a whole new way now, thanks.
posted by PigAlien at 3:25 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by PigAlien at 3:25 PM on May 11, 2015
Neat process although I'm not really sure what I'm looking at. Are they just made of regular, ordinary cement? It looks like a really big press, but I had no idea you could harden cement just with pressure.
I've seen tiles like that before but had always assumed the pattern was just painted onto a plain tile and then baked on somehow. Neat.
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:29 PM on May 11, 2015
I've seen tiles like that before but had always assumed the pattern was just painted onto a plain tile and then baked on somehow. Neat.
posted by Kadin2048 at 3:29 PM on May 11, 2015
Great, a new thing to want.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 3:35 PM on May 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 3:35 PM on May 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
You mean the press, right?
posted by 7segment at 3:37 PM on May 11, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by 7segment at 3:37 PM on May 11, 2015 [4 favorites]
Also useful for encounters with T-800s.
posted by gwint at 3:49 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by gwint at 3:49 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
The tile-press was neat, but the Medallion engraver was OMG amazing! Does the person just keep cutting until it looks like an "N", or is there deliberate steps in the cuts and turns? Does he have a template he's referencing or is it all in his head? The precise cuts, without measuring, and no errors! Only two tools - and the second one really just made round pits. So, so cool!
posted by jazon at 3:51 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jazon at 3:51 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
I once redid the automation for a machine that makes paving stones by this process. It is quite amazing, if you are used to the way cement usually cures, to see finished items pop out of a form after less than a minute and not collapse into a puddle.
posted by localroger at 4:08 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by localroger at 4:08 PM on May 11, 2015
oh my omg. thank you! i love this type of tile and i've always fantasized how it is that they're made. i'm glad to see that the majority of my guesses are right. i had no idea about the hydraulic press part. now if only i could afford them.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 4:23 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 4:23 PM on May 11, 2015
Localroger: I hope your process was more automated than the one depicted!
Does anyone know what process makes the powder set?
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:25 PM on May 11, 2015
Does anyone know what process makes the powder set?
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:25 PM on May 11, 2015
This is really cool! Thanks!
I was obsessed with this kind of tile for years (they call it mission tile around here) and we ended up ordering it (custom made in colors we chose!) for when we re-did the sun room (they call them Arizona rooms here) at the back of the house. It looks lovely and you might never guess it hasn't been there since the house was built in 1936.
posted by Squeak Attack at 4:45 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was obsessed with this kind of tile for years (they call it mission tile around here) and we ended up ordering it (custom made in colors we chose!) for when we re-did the sun room (they call them Arizona rooms here) at the back of the house. It looks lovely and you might never guess it hasn't been there since the house was built in 1936.
posted by Squeak Attack at 4:45 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
The precise cuts, without measuring, and no errors! Only two tools - and the second one really just made round pits. So, so cool!
If you liked that, then you're gonna love this.
posted by neckro23 at 4:50 PM on May 11, 2015
If you liked that, then you're gonna love this.
posted by neckro23 at 4:50 PM on May 11, 2015
Does anyone know what process makes the powder set?
It's the pressure alone that does it. This is called dust press or dry press. The mixture is very finely powdered, and ramming it causes many of the particles to interlock without the need for moisture to 'float' them.
There's a construction technique called rammed earth that does the a similar thing on a larger scale.
posted by George_Spiggott at 5:16 PM on May 11, 2015
It's the pressure alone that does it. This is called dust press or dry press. The mixture is very finely powdered, and ramming it causes many of the particles to interlock without the need for moisture to 'float' them.
There's a construction technique called rammed earth that does the a similar thing on a larger scale.
posted by George_Spiggott at 5:16 PM on May 11, 2015
Wow!! Oh I loved this. The construction of the template impressed me so much - eh, no biggie, I'm just gonna bend this by hand into a perfect geometric shape, la di dah.
posted by missmary6 at 5:34 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by missmary6 at 5:34 PM on May 11, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was watching this thinking "Oh, it's like those lollipops made by pressing sugar powder together really hard until it just sticks solid."
(At least that's how I've always assumed they're made.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:36 PM on May 11, 2015
(At least that's how I've always assumed they're made.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:36 PM on May 11, 2015
I was surprised at how how briefly the pressure is applied. It's all over so quickly!
posted by adamt at 6:11 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by adamt at 6:11 PM on May 11, 2015
For paving stones, whiere it is an automated industrial process, it's a combination of pressure and steam. None of the people I dealt with actually knew why it worked but I had to get all the measurement and timing right according to their recipes. Pressure alone would do it for something small and light like a tile. For a paving stone that might be a couple of inches thick they also use live steam to accelerate the setting process. The machine I modernized (back around 1999) could make a 4x4 foot pallet of paving stones per minute. Much of the automation I controlled involved delivering the sand, agggregate, and water (of which there wasn't much) to the form. What came out of the end was a very dry, flaky, sandstone-like thing that would crumble if you touched it for the first few hours.
I have studied how portland cement works a bit for another personal project and what I think was going on was the pressure and steam were flash-growing short crystals that were able to hold the matrix together against gravity when the form was removed. The longer crystals typical of normal portland cement were then able to sew it up in their time.
posted by localroger at 7:23 PM on May 11, 2015 [5 favorites]
I have studied how portland cement works a bit for another personal project and what I think was going on was the pressure and steam were flash-growing short crystals that were able to hold the matrix together against gravity when the form was removed. The longer crystals typical of normal portland cement were then able to sew it up in their time.
posted by localroger at 7:23 PM on May 11, 2015 [5 favorites]
jazon: "The tile-press was neat, but the Medallion engraver was OMG amazing! Does the person just keep cutting until it looks like an "N", or is there deliberate steps in the cuts and turns? Does he have a template he's referencing or is it all in his head? The precise cuts, without measuring, and no errors! Only two tools - and the second one really just made round pits. So, so cool!"
Having done a very little bit of engraving myself, I'm impressed by the skill of the craftsperson making the medallion. That they're freehanding it (usually one uses "Chinese white"/"China white" paint to make a base on which to draw the pattern) indicates to me that they've done roughly a zillion monograms by now and can do it almost as easily as they can sign their name.
Yes, there's absolutely a plan in mind for the sequence of cuts. You'll notice they first do some sharp, narrow cuts to define the outline of the strokes, then go in with the graver at a shallower angle to do the wide, bright facet cut that fills in between the outlines. There's also a clear sequence of doing the fillips at the ends of each stroke, although I was amused that they apparently forgot one of them and stuck it in later in the process — maybe having a camera stuck in between them and the engraver's block was throwing them off their rhythm.
I gotta get my workbench set up and practice my engraving…
posted by Lexica at 9:15 PM on May 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
Having done a very little bit of engraving myself, I'm impressed by the skill of the craftsperson making the medallion. That they're freehanding it (usually one uses "Chinese white"/"China white" paint to make a base on which to draw the pattern) indicates to me that they've done roughly a zillion monograms by now and can do it almost as easily as they can sign their name.
Yes, there's absolutely a plan in mind for the sequence of cuts. You'll notice they first do some sharp, narrow cuts to define the outline of the strokes, then go in with the graver at a shallower angle to do the wide, bright facet cut that fills in between the outlines. There's also a clear sequence of doing the fillips at the ends of each stroke, although I was amused that they apparently forgot one of them and stuck it in later in the process — maybe having a camera stuck in between them and the engraver's block was throwing them off their rhythm.
I gotta get my workbench set up and practice my engraving…
posted by Lexica at 9:15 PM on May 11, 2015 [3 favorites]
This video was nearly identical, but with some voice-over explanation.
posted by migurski at 10:40 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by migurski at 10:40 PM on May 11, 2015
Just came to say that in Spain (or at least in Madrid) they are called "losas hidráulicas" or "baldosas hidráulicas", but people usually refer to them in the singular, like an uncountable noun. Please go on with the rest of the discussion.
posted by kandinski at 11:06 PM on May 11, 2015
posted by kandinski at 11:06 PM on May 11, 2015
Anyone got any idea what sized hydraulic press you would need for something like this-- a twelve ton press costs ~$200, that's well in the "It'll pay for itself for this neat project!" territory in my justification level of workshop tool purchases.
posted by Static Vagabond at 4:17 AM on May 12, 2015
posted by Static Vagabond at 4:17 AM on May 12, 2015
migurski's video says 2000 psi (in the audio), and the gauge looks like it comes to just under 2000 PSI.. Dunno what tonnage that is.
I liked the original video's pan on the warehouse at the end.. Very Raiders of the Lost Ark kind of panorama.
Not knowing the materials used, I'd be a bit concerned about all the dust coming out during forming and pressing. Silicate dust ain't good for you.
posted by k5.user at 7:23 AM on May 12, 2015
I liked the original video's pan on the warehouse at the end.. Very Raiders of the Lost Ark kind of panorama.
Not knowing the materials used, I'd be a bit concerned about all the dust coming out during forming and pressing. Silicate dust ain't good for you.
posted by k5.user at 7:23 AM on May 12, 2015
The mixture is very finely powdered, and ramming it causes many of the particles to interlock without the need for moisture to 'float' them
The color layer looks pretty wet. Seems to me that application of 2000 pounds per square inch would be enough to get most of that water to migrate into the dust layer and start up the crystal growth chemistry that makes cement work.
posted by flabdablet at 7:25 AM on May 12, 2015
The color layer looks pretty wet. Seems to me that application of 2000 pounds per square inch would be enough to get most of that water to migrate into the dust layer and start up the crystal growth chemistry that makes cement work.
posted by flabdablet at 7:25 AM on May 12, 2015
2000 PSI.. Dunno what tonnage that is
A ton is 2000 pounds (short ton), 2240 pounds (long ton) or 2205 pounds (metric ton); let's call it 2200. Those tiles look about six inches square. So the total press tonnage is 6 inches × 6 inches × 2000 pounds per square inch ÷ 2200 pounds per ton = 33 tons.
posted by flabdablet at 7:32 AM on May 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
A ton is 2000 pounds (short ton), 2240 pounds (long ton) or 2205 pounds (metric ton); let's call it 2200. Those tiles look about six inches square. So the total press tonnage is 6 inches × 6 inches × 2000 pounds per square inch ÷ 2200 pounds per ton = 33 tons.
posted by flabdablet at 7:32 AM on May 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
the pressure and steam were flash-growing short crystals that were able to hold the matrix together against gravity when the form was removed
Water is fairly adhesive stuff in its own right, as anybody who has ever built a sandcastle will understand. Crush very fine grains together hard enough and a tiny bit of water might be all it takes to hold the thing together until the portland cement's needle crystals get their grow on.
posted by flabdablet at 7:38 AM on May 12, 2015
Water is fairly adhesive stuff in its own right, as anybody who has ever built a sandcastle will understand. Crush very fine grains together hard enough and a tiny bit of water might be all it takes to hold the thing together until the portland cement's needle crystals get their grow on.
posted by flabdablet at 7:38 AM on May 12, 2015
six inches square
Revise that. The commentary says the tiles are 5/8" thick, and I just took a screen capture of a frame that shows an edge view, and they come out closer to 10 inches square. So if the pounds per square inch figure does actually apply to the tile as a whole, that would make the required tonnage come out to about 90 tons, not 33.
On the other hand, 2000 psi might refer to the pressure inside the press hydraulics rather than inside the workpiece, in which case you'd need the area of the ram to get the tonnage, not the area of the tile.
posted by flabdablet at 8:07 AM on May 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
Revise that. The commentary says the tiles are 5/8" thick, and I just took a screen capture of a frame that shows an edge view, and they come out closer to 10 inches square. So if the pounds per square inch figure does actually apply to the tile as a whole, that would make the required tonnage come out to about 90 tons, not 33.
On the other hand, 2000 psi might refer to the pressure inside the press hydraulics rather than inside the workpiece, in which case you'd need the area of the ram to get the tonnage, not the area of the tile.
posted by flabdablet at 8:07 AM on May 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think the 2000 PSI figure is the hydraulic gauge pressure; measuring the PSI delivered to the tile would be more difficult and not really necessary for consistency, so I don't see why they'd have that set up.
The press they use in the video has a pretty big ram, looks like it's 3" or 4" dia easily. So if you want worst-case and figure 4", it's something like 24,000 lbs force or 12 tons. That's doable on an H-frame shop press; I think even Harbor Freight sells a 20-ton for a few hundred bucks.
Fabricating the die would be the most work, and you could avoid that if you just wanted to do some quick experimentation to get the pressure and mix right. A scrapyard engine block (say from a big single-cyl motor, maybe a snowthrower or big lawnmower) and a couple of pistons would let you play with pressures and produce some test runs, and the total force might be doable on an arbor press... tempting.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:32 AM on May 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
The press they use in the video has a pretty big ram, looks like it's 3" or 4" dia easily. So if you want worst-case and figure 4", it's something like 24,000 lbs force or 12 tons. That's doable on an H-frame shop press; I think even Harbor Freight sells a 20-ton for a few hundred bucks.
Fabricating the die would be the most work, and you could avoid that if you just wanted to do some quick experimentation to get the pressure and mix right. A scrapyard engine block (say from a big single-cyl motor, maybe a snowthrower or big lawnmower) and a couple of pistons would let you play with pressures and produce some test runs, and the total force might be doable on an arbor press... tempting.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:32 AM on May 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
Very tempting, and I already have access to an air over hydraulic 20 (or 30) ton press.
I bet you could use cookie cutters soldered together for a form.
Tiles with dinosaurs would be cool.
posted by Mitheral at 6:17 PM on May 12, 2015
I bet you could use cookie cutters soldered together for a form.
Tiles with dinosaurs would be cool.
posted by Mitheral at 6:17 PM on May 12, 2015
« Older Probiotics and Allergies | Holly Herndon Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by growabrain at 2:37 PM on May 11, 2015 [3 favorites]