Water jet cutting technology
The ornaments mounted on mesh in Eiffelgres’ collections, such as Mosaico, Bubble, Egg, etc., are made with water jet cutting technology. This technology makes it possible to cut tiles down to very small sizes from a slab of porcelain stoneware, all identical and all shaped with the greatest precision.
The technology employed in this type of work uses a thin but very powerful jet of water to convey an abrasive powder. Together, the two elements act like a sharp blade cutting right through the porcelain stoneware slab.
Once the mosaic tiles have been produced, they are assembled on mesh backing, normally in units measuring 30cmx30cm. The advantage of mounting the tiles on mesh is that the mosaic can be cut to different shapes and sizes, permitting customisation of the final result and making it easy to cover curved surfaces such as columns, wavy dividers, chairs, rounded edges, etc. as the tiles are mounted on a flexible base.
The creative potential of technical design software can be used to plan and then cut ceramic materials to produce specially designed pieces and compositions for customising indoor and outdoor floors and walls.
Laser cutting
An innovative method for decorating technical porcelain stoneware surfaces exploits laser cutting technology. This makes it possible to reproduce designs, logos and text on tiles with the aid of a highly flexible, precision laser beam, permitting adjustment of the width and depth of the beam used to cut the ceramic surface.
Laser decoration is the only method Eiffelgres uses to decorate the surfaces of materials in its collections, which are produced without enamels. It is the compactness of a material such as porcelain stoneware that makes it possible to define the marks made by the laser so precisely, without burr or scratches.