DELLAS presents the new Fickert heads for lapped finishing

The new Fickerts have a length of 170 mm and are more versatile, to respond to the growing demand for increasingly innovative ceramic furnishing elements in both industrial and urban applications.

The Dellas Group is a global manufacturer of diamond tools for ceramic lapping and finishing operations that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. In response to the growing demand for increasingly innovative ceramic furnishing elements in both industrial and urban applications, the Italian company has developed a range of even more versatile tools such as the 170 mm long Fickert heads for lapped finishing.

In the polishing process, it is important to ensure that the polished surface is as flat as possible. For this purpose, the Dellas R&D lab has conducted process optimisation studies focusing on various aspects regarding the properties of the tool and the material being machined.

A surface is described as glossy when incident light is reflected with the lowest possible degree of scattering. Mechanically, this is achieved by abrading the surface uniformly to produce regular, homogenous micro-scratches whose depth and width are of a similar order of magnitude to the wavelength of the incident light.

For Dellas, optimising the polishing process means reducing costs and/or production time and improving finished product quality in terms of finish and gloss. Its specialist team works closely with ceramic companies and observes the operation of automatic finishing lines in order to determine their specific requirements. New product prototypes are then studied and developed at the company’s facility in Lugo (Verona). Before being introduced to the market, they undergo tests, measurements and performance evaluations with a view to ensuring continuous improvement.