Ceramic Tile Molds From CNC

Making a mold for pressing clay tiles gives you the ability to make lots of the same tile.

This is useful if you are making tiles for an installation, like stove backsplash, bathroom decorations or fireplace.

Your ideas are the most important part of the process. There are many sources for inspiration:

I live in California and historical tiles made here are colorful and inspirational. Search for "Mission Tile", "Malibu Tile" or "Craftsman Tile" to get ideas.

Other inspirations for tile design are Moroccan or Mexican tiles.

Supplies for this project include:

• Drawing program to create your files; I use Adobe Illustrator, but Inkscape is a great tool for making files.
• Software to make files for the CNC machine to cut.
• CNC machine for cutting your designs in wood;
• I used a Shopbot Desktop (check if your local maker space has one).
• I also used a Bantam Tools CNC machine (Max size to cut on the machine I used was 4"x 5" which limits what size molds are possible).
• Wood to cut
• Clay to make impressions of your molds
• Kiln to fire
• Glaze for tiles.

Explore, sketch and refine your design then save as an SVG file to make CNC cutting files.

Keep in mind - if your design has type in it, the letters need to be inverted to make a "right reading" impression on your clay.

A file is needed to tell the CNC machine how to cut the design. I use Vetric Software VCarve Desktop.

It can create files (gCode) for many different CNC machines including Shopbot and Bantam Tools.

With the CNC's software interface, send your gCode files to the machine for cutting.

I have good luck with Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) - but be sure to wear breathing and eye protection.

Other options include hardwood. Test what works best for your CNC configuration.

Roll out clay to desired thickness then press mold into clay.

Note that clay will shrink in size at depending on the type of clay. I've made a test tile to see how the clay I'm using will shrink. The test tile photos show the difference between original in wet clay and shrinkage from bisque firing.

Experiment with different types of glazes. It's helpful to note which glazes are used. I'm still learning the benefits of documenting everything.

Note how much shrinkage occurred from the original mold (the clay tiles were made to the same size as the molds)

The SVG design files were used to output versions on a 3D printer. The clay seems to stick more to the plastic surface making it difficult to get good impressions in the clay.