Clay Extruders

Common brick, facing brick, hollow block, and roofing tile from red clay, shale, and fireclay bodies represent the highest-volume application for clay extrusion. Major brick manufacturers rely on Bonnot CL extruders as the primary forming machine on high-throughput production lines where the combination of throughput, wear resistance, and extrudate consistency determines the economic performance of the brick production operation.

Vitrified clay pipe for sewer and drainage infrastructure is produced in standard diameters with wall-thickness tolerances that must be met to pass hydraulic and impact testing. The CL extruder’s consistent extrusion pressure is directly responsible for wall-thickness uniformity in pipe extrusion – pressure fluctuations caused by bridging or surging in the feed system translate directly into wall-thickness variation that causes pipes to fail impact testing.

Fireclay, high-alumina, silicon carbide, and zirconia refractory shapes for furnace linings, kiln furniture, and thermal processing equipment require dimensional precision and green density uniformity that determines fit-up accuracy in lining assemblies and thermal performance in service. The CL series’ ability to produce these shapes continuously, with consistent cross-section geometry, is the basis for its use in commercial refractory manufacturing.

Bentonite-bonded iron ore pellets for blast furnace feed, and industrial mineral pellets across the mining and agricultural sectors, are produced on the CL series where the cylindrical pellet geometry and consistent green density that extrusion provides outperform the roundness and size variability of disc-pelletised product in terms of crush strength and blast furnace permeability.

Professional art clay products – blocks, coils, and void-free clay sheets – sold to sculptors, potters, and specialist art schools must be completely free of air inclusions to throw, hand-build, and fire without cracking. Art clay manufacturers use Bonnot extruders – typically paired with vacuum de-airing – because the consistent density and void-free texture that extrusion with vacuum produces is a premium product attribute that commands a price premium in the professional art materials market.

Alumina tubes, zirconia rods, cordierite honeycomb substrates, and precision ceramic shapes for electronics, medical, and engineering applications require the dimensional tolerance and green density uniformity that the CL series, paired with vacuum de-airing, consistently delivers. For technical ceramic manufacturers, the extruder’s ability to hold cross-section tolerances tightly enough that fired-part dimensions fall within specification without machining – which is expensive and sometimes impossible for hard ceramics – is a direct commercial requirement.