Text/Hong Xiaochun
Due to its superior physical properties, wide range of applications, and customizability, slate slabs have become very popular in the large home furnishing market under the wave of consumption upgrading. The blowout phenomenon of domestic slate slab production lines has become even more intense. Taking the Guangdong production area as an example, this month there was a grand event where three slate production lines were ignited in one day.
With regard to the current surge in rock slab production capacity, there are divergent opinions on the future development trends of rock slabs in the industry. The author believes that the most likely one is that "the slate will become polarized." On the one hand, the explosion of rock slab production lines has gradually made product prices more affordable; on the other hand, after consumer aesthetics reaches a certain level, demand will inevitably force the birth of "luxury" grade rock slab products. Speaking of "luxury goods", everyone usually uses the top brand "Hermès" to describe it. So what kind of rock slab can be called the "Hermès" in the rock slab industry? Below, the author will share a variety of top-notch rock slab products recently launched in the industry!
The legendary top rock slab - full-body rock slab
From bricks to boards, it is a process of breaking out of a cocoon and becoming a butterfly. Although there is currently no customization standard for rock slab products, whether the whole body is intact has become an important indicator for measuring the grade of rock slabs. Stone slabs that are not fully integrated can easily be “exposed” during cutting, chamfering, edge grinding and other processing processes. In order to make the slabs fearless of analysis and remain consistent on the outside and inside, Nobel has launched the 5.0 fully integrated series, which achieves full coverage in terms of texture, material and color. Whole body.
It is understood that in March this year, Nobel teamed up with 5 major institutions in 3 countries and a team of top experts at home and abroad to establish a project team of more than 300 people, invested hundreds of millions of yuan in research and development funds, and took more than 700 days to develop it. Exclusive "intelligent muscle strength technology". When introducing the Nobel slate, Zhong Shuming, vice president of Nobel Ceramics, said that the birth of the Nobel 5.0 full-body slate is behind a 44,000-ton instant pressure press, digital fabric and digital penetrating inkjet, and intelligent recognition and alignment. Technology provides support to give the stone slabs a sense of wholeness and consistency from the inside to the outside.
The new rock value species - translucent slate
Stone slab, as an upgraded new material in the ceramics industry to enter the home furnishings, combines many advantages; it not only has the exquisite texture of stone, but also has extremely high hardness, can be thin or thick, has high toughness and is widely used in applications.Wide range of uses and strong plasticity. Even so, some designers still will not completely replace the use of stone with slate. It was not until the launch of the Mona Lisa translucent slate at the Tanzhou Ceramics Exhibition in 2020 that it once again added a powerful weapon to the competition between slate and stone.
It is reported that most of the translucent slate slabs that have been mass-produced are 3mm thick. For example, the "Rock Value" translucent slate launched by a gold medal company some time ago has improved the transparency on the basis of highlighting the original color and texture of the slate. Optical. Through the hands of designers, translucent slate can be used as luminous background walls, luminous countertops, ceramic screens, cabinet door panels, furniture panels, etc. According to Luo Yin, product research and development director of Gold Medal Enterprise, Gold Medal uses "superconducting technology" to add "75° ultra-white light-transmitting material" to the raw materials when producing translucent slate slabs, which brings the product's appearance to a higher level. .
The one-in-a-million curvature - bendable rock slab
In the field of whole-house customization for large homes, material innovation can often create new trends; if slate manufacturers want to take advantage of the trends, they must seize the trend of all-round upgrading of material performance. This is very different from ceramic tile production. Ceramic tile manufacturers usually focus on the flat surface of the product (i.e., color and texture), while slate manufacturers like to use more bold concave shapes to break dimensional boundaries and play with home customization.
On August 22, New Pearl Group released a new 3mm thin rock slab product. The new product has the advantages of large, light, thin, curved, hard, high quality and green. The biggest highlight is that it can achieve 15-20° elasticity Limit bending. Coincidentally, on August 26th, the gold medal company released a 3mm curved rock slab with a "natural twist - 30° golden arc". Not only is the flexibility amazing, the product itself is also very light, weighing only 7kg per square meter, adding decorative features. The breadth of applications.
The most considerate health guardian - antibacterial slate
2020 is a year that will be remembered in people's minds. The people's united efforts to fight against the invasion of the new coronavirus will be recorded in the history of the nation and the world. Even slate, a new product in the building ceramics industry, has become a guardian of people's home health, shouldering the glorious mission of sterilization and antibacterial. Gold Medal Asia’s golden velvet slate is like thisA considerate product, it can destroy the molecular structure of bacteria when it comes into physical contact, inhibiting the proliferation of bacteria, with an antibacterial rate of 99.85%, and can stably protect home health for a long time.
The secret formula of antibacterial slate is actually something we are very familiar with - silver. This material has been widely used for poison testing and sterilization since ancient times. It is currently a very good antibacterial material. Zirconium phosphate-supported silver has high purity, small particle size, large specific surface area, and very good antibacterial properties. The antibacterial slate launched by Nobel uses modern means to solidify zirconium phosphate-carrying silver into the slate product through a high-temperature firing of 1200°. The antibacterial effect will continue after long-term use. It is worth mentioning that the antibacterial rate of Nobel slate has reached over 99% after testing by a national authority.
Regarding slate, Du Bojun, founder of Shanghai Bairen Decoration Engineering Design Co., Ltd., expressed his views from a design perspective. Du Bojun believes that “designers have always been committed to how to better solve the problem of human habitation. To complete a space, the choice of materials is very important. If the application of a certain material will make the space practical and good for long-term living, Taking care of and even making people in this space feel satisfied and happy will be the pursuit of all designers and owners. Therefore, consumers should not make choices after the materials are produced, but should be people-oriented. Develop materials based on consumer needs.” From this point of view, the emergence of slate may be due to people’s inner calling for a better life.
Full-body, translucent, bendable, antibacterial... Which type of slate do you think is more promising in the future? Please pick it up below!
Author: Hong Xiaochun
