Large format ultra thin porcelain tile water jet cut into an oval shape for table inlay
Large format ultra-thin Porcelain tiles are becoming more popular to use in large spaces like hotels, office foyers, and in large homes etc.. as they can fill large areas quickly with minimal grout lines.
We have used waterjet cutting on a few projects that use these tiles in other ways.
Like this dining table inlay.
The table was custom-made to order and the inlay was waterjet cut by us from a large format ultra-thin porcelain tile.
We were supplied this tile by the client, it came in a very large wooden pallet direct from the supplier in Europe.
This needed a lot of thought and care to process!
Just removing the tile from the pallet box onto the waterjet cutting machine needed special care and planning.
It was 3000mm long x 1000mm wide x 3.5mm thick and it is a porcelain tile!
Although the tile was actually quite strong as it has a grp mesh bonded to the back of it, the tile was very delicate and flimsy and we needed to design jigs and jig it up and lift it in a carefully planned way to enable us to flip it over and lay it flat on the machine ready for cutting.
We then programmed the machine and waterjet cut the design into the tile.
Then as much care was required to get it back of the machine and back into the pallet crate it came in.
We added some blocks screwed in place to stop it sliding around and then it was loaded onto the collection truck to go to the furniture maker.