LAUFEN – THE INNOVATIONS
20
40
60
80
100
120
MPa
Source: Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung-
und Prüfung, Berlin, 2011
BENDING STRENGTH
Vitreous
China
Fine Fire
Clay
SaphirKeramik
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
Nm
IMPACT ENERGY
Source: Keramik-Institut GmbH, Meissen, 2011
Vitreous China
SaphirKeramik
Freedom to
Reshape
SAPHIRKERAMIK VERSUS
FINE FIRECLAY
SaphirKeramik, patented and available
on the market is a globally significant
innovation from LAUFEN.
This revolutionary ceramic material
reaches an exceptional hardness. This
gives SaphirKeramik a flexural strength
equal to that of steel. Yet it has the
potential to be wafer-thin, giving design-
ers almost infinite freedom to experiment
– and tear up the rulebook of bathroom
design.
After some years of experience of
producing SaphirKeramik pieces on
an industrial scale, LAUFEN is now
stretching the patented material’s
limits by exploiting its super-fine forms
not only to create exquisitely detailed
textures and patterns but also by en-
gineering the innovative material to
increase its maximum size – a 120 cm-
long washbasin in SaphirKeramik is
the largest to date. LAUFEN has also
applied its impressively efficient, high-
pressure casting technology to, high-
volume pieces in SaphirKeramik.
THE THIN-WALLED SAPHIRKERAMIK
WAS TESTED FOR IMPACT RESISTANCE AT THE
KERAMIK INSTITUT MEISSEN
Simultaneously hard and malleable,
SaphirKeramik enables pieces to be made
with very thin, yet very strong walls of only
3 – 5 mm, as well as with narrowly defined
radii of only 1 – 2 mm. The slim profile of
SaphirKeramik means that it saves space,
is light and environmentally friendly. The
new design characteristics of this innova-
tive material are rooted in its exceptional
hardness and strength.
SAPHIRKERAMIK HAS A TWO TO
THREE TIMES HIGHER BENDING RESISTANCE
THAN TRADITIONAL CERAMICS
When the mechanical properties of the
two traditional sanitary ceramic mass-
es – namely vitreous china and fine fire
clay – are compared, the performance of
SaphirKeramik is unique even in interna-
tional comparison.
The comparative values measured by
the Federal Institute for Materials
Research and Testing in Berlin (BAM) for
SaphirKeramik are, at anaverage of over
120 MPa; Comparable with carbon steel
and twice as high as for vitreous china.
LAUFEN was awarded the Swiss Design
Prize 2017/18 for the development of Sa-
phirKeramik.
„Aspects such as ecology and sus-
tainability may not have been the focus
of attention in the development of
SaphirKeramik, but they contribute sig-
nificantly to the positive overall image
of the material,“ the jury commented.
In doing so, it acknowledged the ad-
ditional advantages of the material:
Lower material costs, for example,
which are also due to a simplified
structure of the ceramic parts, as well
as the advantages in terms of envi-
ronmental protection and sustain-
ability, since fewer raw materials
and less energy are used in the
firing, production, and transport of
SaphirKeramik.
PRODUCTION OF SAPHIRKERAMIK WITH THE
CASTING TECHNOLOGY INVENTED BY LAUFEN
«New materials have always been one
of the most important driving forces
behind the development of design. With
SaphirKeramik, the traditional Swiss
brand LAUFEN has succeeded in creating
an equally surprising and remarkable inno-
vation whose effects on sanitary ceramics
can only be estimated to a limited
extent today.»
«The composite material, which does not
require chemical additives, wows with its
specific properties - hardness, bending
strength - and offers the enormous eco-
nomic advantage of being suitable for
processing using traditional production
processes.» These were the words the
jury used to elaborate on their decision
to award SaphirKeramik the Swiss
Design Prize.
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