The very first tile cutter invented by the Boada brothers in 1951 in the town of Rubi near Barcelona, Spain.
We've been assembling tile samplers for our newly appointed agent for the U.S. market recently. Of course this has required a lot of careful tile cutting. This got me to thinking about methods and tools.
Thin wall tiles can be cut using a simple glass cutter and a straightedge then snapping the tile along the scoreline against another tile. Mass-produced ceramic tiles of medium to soft grades are cut easily with hand tools. Heavier tiles require the use of a specialised tile cutter or a watercooled rotary tile saw. For extreme accuracy industrial high pressure waterjet machines are used
The ceramic tile cutter, or beam score cutter, is a tool invented in 1951 by the Boada brothers, in the town of Rubi near Barcelona, Spain. The first tile cutter was designed to facilitate the work and solve the problems that masons experienced when cutting hydraulic mosaic, a type of Spanish decorative tile made with pigmented cement.
Hydraulic mosaic was very popular in the 1950's but was particularly thick making it difficult to cut. The invention allowed for a deep scratch to be made in a straight line. Then pressure was applied on both sides of the scratch with a lever thus cracking the tile. The machine was popularly known in the industry as the 'Rubi'. Over time the tool evolved, incorporating elements that made it more accurate and productive. The first cutters had an iron pen to make the scratch. This was later replaced by the current tungsten carbide scoring wheel. Snapping pressures on modern machines vary widely, some mass-produced models exerting over 750 kg.
Thin wall tiles can be cut using a simple glass cutter and a straightedge then snapping the tile along the scoreline against another tile. Mass-produced ceramic tiles of medium to soft grades are cut easily with hand tools. Heavier tiles require the use of a specialised tile cutter or a watercooled rotary tile saw. For extreme accuracy industrial high pressure waterjet machines are used
The ceramic tile cutter, or beam score cutter, is a tool invented in 1951 by the Boada brothers, in the town of Rubi near Barcelona, Spain. The first tile cutter was designed to facilitate the work and solve the problems that masons experienced when cutting hydraulic mosaic, a type of Spanish decorative tile made with pigmented cement.
Hydraulic mosaic was very popular in the 1950's but was particularly thick making it difficult to cut. The invention allowed for a deep scratch to be made in a straight line. Then pressure was applied on both sides of the scratch with a lever thus cracking the tile. The machine was popularly known in the industry as the 'Rubi'. Over time the tool evolved, incorporating elements that made it more accurate and productive. The first cutters had an iron pen to make the scratch. This was later replaced by the current tungsten carbide scoring wheel. Snapping pressures on modern machines vary widely, some mass-produced models exerting over 750 kg.
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