Ceramic Processing
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We make one thing for ceramic slab processing: the CIKA polishing head. It fits other manufacturers’ polishing lines. So this page is not about the head — that has its own page — it is about what polishing a square metre actually costs you, and which part of that cost the head controls.
We do not build polishing lines, calibrating machines or anything else downstream of a quarry block. If you are specifying a complete line we are not your supplier, and it is better to know that now. If you are costing one that already runs, read on.
The short version, if you are only here for a minute
- Cost per square metre polished has four lines, not one: abrasive consumption, how often heads get changed, the line downtime each change costs you, and rework from gloss that varies across a batch.
- The head controls all four, because it is what presses the abrasive against the slab. Uneven pressure means uneven wear, which means heads replaced while usable abrasive is still on them.
- Our own case study records imported low-cost heads producing malfunctions and line shutdowns within three to six months of service.
- Customers report the CIKA head lasting up to four times longer than those cheaper imports — with proper maintenance. That is reported experience, not a bench measurement, and we say so.
- What we do not make: polishing lines, calibrating machines, gangsaws, kilns, presses, glazing or printing equipment, abrasives, or slab handling. One head, nothing else.
What does it actually cost you to polish a square metre?
Four things add up to it, and only one of them is the price of abrasive. The other three are how often you change heads, what each change costs you in stopped line, and how much product you reprocess because the gloss was not consistent across the batch. Most plants track the first and absorb the rest.
- Abrasive consumption. The visible cost, and the one everybody measures. What is less visible is how much abrasive goes in the skip still usable because it wore unevenly.
- Head replacement frequency. A spare-parts line on your budget, and a direct multiple of how long each head survives in your conditions.
- Downtime per changeover. The cost nobody puts in the spreadsheet. A line that stops to swap heads is a line not producing, and on a high-volume plant that is usually the largest of the four.
- Rework from inconsistent gloss. If gloss varies across a slab or between slabs in a batch, you either downgrade the product or run it again. Both are paid for in square metres.
Add them up before you compare head prices. A head that costs less per unit and is changed three times as often, stopping the line each time, is not the cheaper head — it only looks like it on the purchase order.
Why do polishing heads get replaced sooner than they should?
Because the pressure is not even. If the arms holding the abrasive do not open and close symmetrically, force concentrates on part of the contact surface — so the abrasive on that side is spent while the rest still has life in it, and the head comes off the line early. Uneven gloss and premature replacement are the same fault seen from two directions.
That is the problem the CIKA head’s cam-driven motion is built to address, and it is the only claim we make for it here: even pressure distribution, therefore more uniform abrasive wear. The mechanism, the three diameters and the full specification are set out on the polishing head page rather than repeated here.
What we do not claim is a gloss number, a throughput figure in square metres per hour, or the same result on every line. All three depend on your machine, your abrasive and your material as much as on the head, so publishing a figure for them would be inventing one.
The other pattern worth naming: reliance on low-cost imported heads. Our case study on a ceramic slab plant records those heads producing malfunctions and line shutdowns within three to six months of entering service — which is the downtime line above, arriving twice a year instead of rarely.
What changed on one ceramic slab line
A large-scale ceramic slab manufacturer, high volume, strict surface-quality standards. Four objectives: consistent high-gloss finish across large batches, fewer stoppages for head changes, longer head life, and a lower overall cost per square metre polished.
On service life, be clear what kind of number this is. Customers report the CIKA head lasting up to four times longer than the cheaper imported heads they replaced, conditional on proper maintenance. That is reported operating experience, not a measurement we took on a test rig, and we have no comparative protocol to publish. We give it for exactly what it is.
“By switching to the CIKA Polishing Head, we’ve achieved consistent surface quality and maximized polishing stone usage by reducing our polishing head replacement frequency. With proper maintenance, they last almost four times longer than cheaper alternative brand heads and CIKA is significantly more cost-effective per square meter.”
— Polishing Line Manager, ceramic slab manufacturer
Note what that operator actually says he gained: not a faster line, but maximised polishing stone usage and fewer changeovers. That is the first and third cost lines on this page, which is why we lead with the cost structure rather than with the product.
Client name and site identifiers have been modified for confidentiality. Read the full case study
Maintenance: a correction to our own product page
Our CIKA product page states that the head “requires no spare parts, service, or maintenance”. That sentence is too broad, and the same page contradicts it two rows further down by specifying Grease EP 0 as its lubrication. The operator quoted above also conditions the four-times figure on proper maintenance. Here is the accurate version.
- It needs periodic greasing with EP 0 grease. This is not optional — it is the lubrication row on the specification sheet, and the reported service life assumes it is being done.
- The abrasives are consumable and get replaced, as on any head. The published abrasive length is a compatibility dimension, not a service life.
- What is true in the original sentence is that in normal service the head itself does not call for spare parts: the body, the cam, the bearings and the shaft are not scheduled wear items.
We would rather you heard this from us than discovered it in your own workshop. The product page is being corrected to match.
The domestic production certificate, and what it does not mean
The head carries a Turkish domestic production certificate. It attests one thing: that the product is manufactured locally, at the national content level the authority verified.
It is not a performance certification, not a surface-quality attestation, and not the equivalent of a CE mark. We publish it because it is verifiable and because it matters to public buyers and local-content files — not as a performance argument.
What it means in practice for you: the head is machined in the workshop that will answer your phone call, and spare parts do not travel through three intermediaries to reach you.
Where our range stops in a ceramic plant
On this page, more than any other on our site, the list of what we do not make is longer than the list of what we do. That is deliberate.
What we supply
- The CIKA polishing head, in three diameters
- A compatibility check against the line you already run
- Fitting and greasing instructions
- Pneumatic motors and gear reducers, if another part of your plant needs a drive — that is our other industrial range
What we do not supply
- No polishing lines. Our head fits yours
- No calibrating, squaring, rectifying or chamfering machines
- No gangsaws, block cutters or bridge saws
- Nothing from ceramic manufacturing itself — no kilns, presses, glazing lines or digital printing
- No abrasives. We publish the compatible length, not a range of abrasives — tell us what you use and we will confirm it fits
- No slab handling, conveying or packing
- No second head. CIKA is the only model in our catalogue; there is no range behind it
If your project is a complete line, we will say so on the first exchange rather than after three meetings.
Questions we get asked
How do I work out my cost per square metre polished?
Take abrasive spend, head replacement spend, the production value of the line hours lost to changeovers, and the square metres reworked or downgraded for gloss — over the same period, divided by square metres finished. Most plants have the first two to hand and have never costed the third, which is usually the biggest.
How long will a head last on my line?
We do not publish a life in hours, because it depends on your abrasive, your material, your line speed and your maintenance. What we have is the reported comparison above — up to four times the life of low-cost imported heads, with proper maintenance — and we present it as reported experience rather than as a measurement.
Will it fit the line I already have?
Probably, and three diameters exist for that reason — but we will not confirm it without checking. Send the make and model of your line, the diameter of your current heads, the spindle spacing and the power available per station. The dimensions and the fitting detail are on the polishing head page.
What maintenance does it actually need?
Periodic greasing with EP 0 grease, and abrasive changes when they are worn. We supply the greasing instructions with the head. Skip it and the service life described above does not apply.
Can you promise a gloss level?
No, and nobody honestly can from a web page. Gloss is a product of your abrasive sequence, your line speed, your water and your material as well as the head. What the head contributes is consistency — even pressure across the contact surface — and that is the claim we stand behind.
Do you have a technical article on choosing a head?
Not yet. Our technical library covers drilling and wire sawing; there is nothing on polishing or on cost per square metre. It is a gap we know about. In the meantime an emailed question gets an engineer’s answer rather than a brochure.
What else do you make for the stone and ceramic industry?
Everything upstream of the block: drilling machines, diamond wire saws and rock drills for granite and marble quarries. In the processing chain, the polishing head is our only product.
Send us your line, and your cost per square metre
The make and model of the line, the diameter and spacing of your current heads, the power per station, your material and your throughput — plus how often you change heads today, if you know. We confirm whether ours fits and show you which of the four cost lines it would move. If it would not move any of them, we will tell you that.
Case Studies
Higher Surface Quality and Longer Tool Life in Ceramic Processing
A large-scale ceramic slab manufacturer with high production volumes and high-quality standards. The company needed a solution that ensured consistent polish and reduced downtime. it had to increase production capacity and lower costs. CIKA met all these requirements.
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