Can I calculate clay body expansion?
No, there are too many factors other than chemistry that impact the thermal expansion of a clay body. The most fundamental is that clay bodies do not melt like glazes, the oxides do not form a glass; thermal expansion calculations depend completely on this assumption. Expansion calculations also depend on the assumption that no crystallization is taking place (once a glass crystallizes is thermal expansion will change completely, clay bodies are loaded with crystallization). Particle size distribution, mineralogy of the particles (which can involve progressive stages of decomposition that can liberate to or even take up specific oxides from the melt), the effect of interactions that might play to accelerate or slow the breaking of molecular bonds of specific particle types, the speed, atmosphere and duration of firing are other factors that affect expansion. For example, while the SiO2 content may be similar in two bodies of similar chemistry one may have most of the SiO2 in quartz grains and the other might have it in feldspar and kaolin. These will have vastly different thermal expansions.
Will INSIGHT substitute one material for another automatically in my recipe?
This is too complex an issue for a machine, and INSIGHT will not attempt to think it through for you. However INSIGHT does give you the tools to juggle recipes to achieve a specific oxide formula. It provides tutorials that specifically deal with this and reference materials to help you develop the skills you need to substitute materials. It is important to note that substitution is usually a matter of mineralogy and physical properties as well as chemistry (INSIGHT considers only chemistry). In INSIGHT you can put two glaze recipes side-by-side (one with the old material and the other with the substitute) and juggle ingredients in the new one until the chemisties match as well as possible. For example, if one recipe needs more Al2O3 and SiO2 you can raise the kaolin and silica to supply the right amount. However oxides like K2O, Na2O, B2O3 are sourced from materials that also supply many other oxides. Thus when you adjust the amounts of these materials the amounts of many oxides in the formula can be affected. As you learn what oxides each material supplies you develop a sense for which oxides to match first how to do this juggling act to get as good an overall match as possible. Many people find this process quite a stimulating challenge.
How do I compare the chemistry of two materials?
Create a one-material-recipe for each and compare them in the formula list using any calculation method desired. You can also compare a material with itself (e.g. its formula with its analysis).
Why doesn't INSIGHT support Additive Materials?
While materials can be classified as additives, we do not support the concept of a main recipe with items added to it in a separate section. You can still order recipes the way you want and you can retotal them excluding the additives. Some materials contribute both chemistry and additive properties that are situation dependent and it is difficult to draw an absolute line making a material one or the other. The same arguments apply to other categories (e.g. colorants, opacifiers, variegators), these are equally difficult to impose labels on since they are often multifunction. In future we will add the ability to default the order of recipes according to the type of material.
Do existing recipes unlink from material chemistry if material names are changed?
Yes and no. INSIGHT has a two-way and multi-string search mechanisms so that links can be maintained. INSIGHT maintains separate Lookup and Labels for each line, you can relabel any line without breaking its link to the materials database.
I have glazes with expansions of 6.8 and 7.9 and they both fit the same body. Why?
Expansion calculations are relative within a system. For example, if you have a dolomite, whiting, feldspar, kaolin, silica glaze and you try a bunch of variations, the calculated expansions will give you an indication of which variations have higher and lower expansions. But if you introduce lithium carbonate, or boron frit, or zinc, for example, now you have a different system. Also, some oxides, like Li2O do not impose their expansions in a linear fashion, thus they do not calculate as well. Another critical factor is melting: If a glaze is not completely melted the expansion calculation is invalid. A third factor: Crystalization: When a glass crystallizes its physical properties are different. A fourth factor: Non melting particles, like zircon, impose their expansions in a manner different than if they melt and participate in the glass chemistry.
I have a glaze of 7.5 thermal expansion that fits better than another that is 7.0, why?
See the answer to the question: I have glazes with expansions of 6.8 and 7.9 and they both fit the same body. Why?
Can I look up frit recipes by searching by properties such as CTE, surface tension, melting point?
No, but INSIGHT does connect to our reference website and you can look up frits there. Some have melting points listed. Many have CTEs listed, but you cannot search by property value. However, consider that different frit companies have different ways of measuring CTE. The same goes for melting point, frits soften instead of melt and there are many different ways to measure and express this. Surface tension is a similar story. Ceramic chemistry is a relative, not absolute science. CTE numbers are absolute. Our philosophy is to adjust existing glazes to get what you want. If a glaze is crazing for example, not matter what any data for the glaze, body or materials says, if the glaze is crazing its thermal expansion needs to be reduced. We give you the reference materials, videos, instruction manual, software and support needed to adjust a glaze to reduce its expansion. Or substitute materials. Or fix problems like blistering or leaching. Or ajdust melting temperature, surface character, color response, and lots of other things. The CTE data from a frit company can be valuable if you are already using one of their frits so you can see if the other frit has a higher or lower property value (like CTE). However consider also that just because you replace one frit for another with a lower thermal expansion, that does not mean the glaze containing that frit is going to have a lower expansion. If the frit being substituted has an entirely different chemistry to interplay with the chemistry of the host glaze, the results of the new interactions are not entirely predictable. It is better to use our INSIGHT software to adjust the chemistry of the glaze in a meaasured direction (reduce the KNaO and replace it with another flux in the same amount to fix crazing, for example).
Are INSIGHT's thermal expansion calculations accurate?
No, these are not absolute numbers, they are relative. There are many factors that influence thermal expansion that are beyond calculation (e.g. non-linear contributions, oxide interactions, devitrification or incomplete melting). However there is a reasonable enough correspondence between INSIGHT's predictions and actual measured expansions in many systems and in a relative sense (if all other process and material factors are similar). If INSIGHT predicts that one glaze will have a significantly higher expansion than another of the same type and treated in the same way then this is likely true. Thus you can use INSIGHT to move a glaze's expansion in the right direction (then you can test to fine tune it).
Why are some coloring oxides missing in the INSIGHT MDT?
We have found it better to consider colors and opacifiers as add-ons and rationalize their influence on the recipe level (except iron). Opacifiers do not melt into the glaze and are therefore not a part of its chemistry anyway. The contribution of colors to properties like thermal expansion is not well understood. For both of these, you are going to use the amount required to get the needed color and opacity no matter what the chemistry says anyway. INSIGHT enables you to relate the chemistry of a glaze to the way it fires, this is an inexact and relative science, learning these relationships with the base recipe (without colorants and opacifiers) is best, especially at the start. Later you can mentally factor in knowledge about colorant and opacifier effects on specific properties. You can still enter colorants and opacifiers into recipes in INSIGHT, it is happy to accept them (it marks them with an asterisk). Ultimately, if you need to include colorant chemistry in calculation, you can add materials and oxides to the INSIGHT MDT in a variety of ways (including being able to construct and download a custom MDT at digitalfire.com).
Will INSIGHT automatically convert from unity formula to recipe?
No. Since the factors that determine how much of each material to use go far beyond chemistry considerations INSIGHT uses a semi-automatic approach. The recipe-to-formula and formula-to-recipe calculations are tightly interwoven in INSIGHT's interactive environment and proficient users do not miss an automatic converter. You can specify the amount of material you want either by weight or by the molecule requirement for an oxide it supplies.
If an oxide does not appear in the limit formulas does that mean it has no limits?
There are never no limits. Even the limits we document are not 'cast-in-stone'. Any limit formulas we publish are an attempt to provide an approximate starting point to create a glaze that forms a durable glass. Information on testing your glaze can be found in the education section of digitalfire.com.
Will INSIGHT tell me how to change a glaze to make it fire lower? or higher?
The target formulas available in INSIGHT (and in textbooks) help you to guess melting range of a glaze, but this is not foolproof by any means, there are too many complex variables involved to apply a mathematical process. However INSIGHT comes with tutorials on how existing glazes were adjusted to melt lower and it provides lots of information about how oxides interplay to affect melting temperature. After working with your glazes and relating the chemistry to the melting temperature you will develop the ability to adjust firing temperature within the system of oxides you know. You will also come to appreciate that the chemical changes required to reduce firing temperature have side effects that must be considered (e.g. increased thermal expansion). However any glaze (or collections of similar glazes) has limits on how much existing materials can be juggled to change melting temperature. When these limits are reached new oxides need to be introduced and existing ones reduced or eliminated. For example, fluxes like CaO, MgO that work well at cone 10 are not effective at cone 5, so increasing them is not going to be enough, you need to add a low temperature flux like boron. In many cases it will be best to identify the mechanism of the existing glaze and transplant this into an existing base transparent glaze at the desired temperature.
Can INSIGHT calculate melting temperatures of glazes?
The complexities of oxide interactions and firing methods along with the wide range of physical and mineralogical properties of materials supplying oxides make the prediction of absolute values for fired properties an inexact and highly system-specific science at best. This is especially the case with melting temperature prediction.

However ceramic calculations work well as a relative science. INSIGHT's dual recipe functionality makes it a natural for studying one recipe in relation to another with respect to maturing temperature, expansion, etc. Technicians change the chemistry of a recipe according to a knowledge of what direction the change should take the desired property. Then they relate fired results back to the chemical change and build understanding to use for subsequent fine tuning. It is common to develop prediction skills within specific 'oxide systems'. We teach people the interpretation skills they need to do this. Digitalfire is very hesitant to build temperature prediction into INSIGHT for fear it would make us appear in any way naive about this.
Can INSIGHT do recipe blends?
INSIGHT tends adapt better to people who would rather just learn
how each oxide contributes to the glaze and then formulate or fix a glaze
by simply adding or removing what is required to move in the desired
direction. When one relates fired results to the chemistry of the glaze lots of relationships become evident. Add a knowledge of oxides and you can not explain why things happen the way they do in the kiln and you can make them happen. We thus see blending as more of a recipe manipulation task rather than one related to glaze chemistry.

Education (Top)

Do I need a site license for my School?
You can install so that many people use one copy, or that one person uses many copies, but you need a license if many people use more than one copy. Site licenses are 5 times the price of one with credits for past purchases and educational discounts. Visit the INSIGHT page for more information.
Do you have discounts for education?
Yes. Visit the insight page on our website for more information or click the contact link on our home page and email.
Do you have any ideas on getting students to use INSIGHT for assignments?
One excellent suggestion we had was this:
Assign beginners to do the calculations necessary to remove whiting from a glaze and replace it with wollastonite while maintaining the glazes chemistry. Tell intermediates to replace talc and dolomite with a frit that sources MgO and ask them why this should be done for porcelain and fine tableware glazes (to remove glaze bubbles). Ask advanced people to analyse a glaze recipe and recommend substitutes for individual situations (e.g. cost reduction, increase reliability, lower melting point by using more fusible oxide sources, employ clays of finer particle size to suspend better). Use the lessons section in the INSIGHT manual for ideas.
I'm teaching a class on ceramic calculations, where do I get information?
We are fighting the 'test-glaze-recipes-until-one-works' philosophy taught in many educational institutions. We cater to people who want to know 'why', who are ready to confront safety and quality issues, who are ready to learn the basic chemistry and adjust and control their own recipes. Try clicking the "Where do I start" link on our home page. You may also find that the lessons section in the INSIGHT manual make an excellent starting point.

Installation (Top)

What is automatic-login via IP Address range?
If you can give us a range of IP addresses from your institution we can set up your account so that any computer at your school that visits the Digitalfire Reference website is automatically logged in. This service is free for INSIGHT site licenses. Your tech support people will be able to provide this information. Most universities have a block of IP addresses but even if you have just one we can use it, provided it is static (the IP address never changes). This refers only to visiting the reference website using your browser, it does not affect INSIGHT itself, INSIGHT knows how to login automatically using your key.
Where can I download INSIGHT?
Login at the digitalfire home page and then click the download link. There are tutorial and video links there if you are not sure how to download.
Is it difficult to install?
No. In Windows just download, open and click yes a couple of times. For Macintosh, click download and a folder should be waiting on your desktop. Open it and copy the contents into a folder on your desktop. For Linux, unpack the archive into a folder and open the program.
How do I move my INSIGHT to another computer?
By default INSIGHT keeps its data files in the insight folder in your personal documents folder (e.g. MyDocuments in Windows XP). Put these files from your old computer onto your new computer in the same place (this should happen automatically if you move your entire documents folder to the new computer). Download the installer and install INSIGHT on the new computer and start it and give it your digitalfire password and matching email and click to tell it to get your key from our website. You are done.

If you have already installed INSIGHT on the new computer, then just copy the INSIGHTDATA.DB and STANDARD.XML files from the old documents/insight folder to the new one. If you have any files named xx-yyy.xml (eg. 45-3456.xml) these are custom materials files you have downloaded from our website, move them also, or better yet go your our website on the new computer and get them again (click Download MDT on the INSIGHT page).
What does the Windows installer do?
The installer creates an INSIGHT folder in the Program Files folder of your computer (if it is not already there) and writes the program and data files there. It creates some shortcuts to launch different functions. The first time INSIGHT runs it creates a folder in your documents folder and copies the recipe and materials files there.
How do I uninstall INSIGHT?
In Windows use the Uninstall item in the Start menu and then trash the INSIGHT folder in your Documents folder. For Macintosh and Linux trash the INSIGHT folder and the INSIGHT folder in your documents folder. If you don't want to lose recipe files, move the recipe folder out of the INSIGHT folder (in your documents folder).
Will INSIGHT clog up my computer or slow it down in any way?
It does not affect your computers speed at all, the installer just copies some files into a folder. INSIGHT is small and efficient. The INSIGHT application is self-contained in one folder. It stores its preferences, recipe, materials, index and report files in the appropriate preferences, documents and temporary folders for your username.
Can I try the new INSIGHT without disturbing my current version?
In Windows: If you had an older version of INSIGHT 2006 make a copy of the old INSIGHT folders in the Program Files and your documents folders. To go back to the older version put these folders back to replace the new ones. Older versions of INSIGHT installed into different folders so the new one will not interfere with them. For Macintosh: Run INSIGHT from a different folder to test a newer version.
Starting at version 2006 INSIGHT can read older format recipe and materials files but it saves them in a new XML format and renames the file with an XML extension. That means the older version will not be able to find the files. The new INSIGHT has a compatibility mode you can use to save files in the old format (see Preferences).
Do I need to uninstall older Windows INSIGHT to upgrade?
Install the new INSIGHT in a different folder to test it first. Then uninstall the old one when you are done testing. Keep in mind that the new version writes XML format files that older ones cannot read. Also, newer versions of INSIGHT store recipe and materials files in a folder in your documents folder, so you may need to move your files to the new location.
Can I install the same version over itself (e.g. for a bug fix upgrade)?
Yes, it just replaces files of the same name. The Standard materials file is not replaced and neither are the custom report templates. None of your recipe files above 100 are touched either.
Where do I get the Ron Roy materials file?
Check near the top of the download page at Digitalfire.com. You need to login first, then click download.
Can INSIGHT be installed on an application server as a site license?
It can be put on an applications server but the program would read and write data from each persons documents folder. If multiple copies are configured to read and write files into the same network folder and one person starts the program and changes options, INSIGHT writes these into a configuration file. If someone else is using it as the same time and sets other options these would overwrite those of the first user. The same would go for the recipe and materials data. INSIGHT is thus intended as a single user application.

Miscellaneous (Top)

What resolution does my video monitor need to be to run INSIGHT?
You need 1024x768 dots, this provides plenty of room. You can squeeze by on 800x600 but the ancient 640x480 is too small. Do not set your computer to a lower resolution so you can see it easier. There is a better way. Set it to 1024x768 and tell windows to use a larger font size, this is much easier to read than the chunky letters of low resolution. Also, if you have a flat-panel LCD display make sure you have windows set to the same resolution as the monitor and the characters will be much sharper (this is a common mistake). Right-click on the desktop for the settings dialog.
Is the INSIGHT easy to use?
Our job is to bring ceramic chemistry within the reach of anyone. We have created the support systems to educate you in the theory of ceramic chemistry, it is not difficult, you can start slowly. INSIGHT itself is considerably easier to use than some of the other products, its main screen has undergone evolution since 1980, much of this relates to the constant search for an elegantly simple layout that still has the power to do what is needed. We are constantly evolving the link between our educational resources and the user interface of INSIGHT.
How does INSIGHT compare with other programs?
You can download the INSIGHT manual, there is a section on the history and design philosophy of INSIGHT. In general, INSIGHT is focused on ceramic chemistry calculations as opposed to recipe management, it is very fast and compact, it is highly tuned, it supports side-by-side fully operational recipes, it couples with a powerful materials database website at (digitalfire.com), it has been around the longest (since 1980), it is used extensively in industry, it has many features tuned for demonstrating concepts in education, it stores all files in XML format. There is a link on the INSIGHT page at digitalfire.com about INSIGHTs advantages also.
Who wrote INSIGHT?
24-year-old Tony Hansen, the plant technician at Plainsman Clays in Alberta, Canada, began development of INSIGHT in 1978. This was shortly after the introduction of the first personal computers by companies like Altair, Apple and Tandy. The first commercial version ran on the Tandy Model III and featured separate recipe and formula frames (the term 'window' was not yet concieved). He subsequently ported it to the first commonly available laptop computer, the Tandy Model 100. The IBM PC was introduced in 1982 and INSIGHT was running on it by 1983. Shortly after that he got INSIGHT running on the first Macintosh 128K, albeit in a PC-like fashion. Windows and more Macintosh friendly versions followed in the early nineties. Tony Hansen continues to be the prime developer of INSIGHT. He introduced FORESIGHT in 1990 as the first fully relational recipe, ceramic calculation and physical test record keeping system, it is still used by many companies today (some have hundreds of thousands of tests in their databases).
Why doesn't INSIGHT use a database to store recipes?
We have maintained file rather than database storage of recipes for similar reasons to word processors and email programs vendors (accessability by other programs, reliability, resistance to depracation, widening of upgrade options). Storing recipes in files also removes the need to export or import recipes when upgrading INSIGHT or exchanging recipes with other people. INSIGHT presents its recipe open and search dialog in a database-like fashion even though the recipes are stored as files. Since modern computers are so fast, speed issues are not important when dealing with only a few thousand records. It is a little like comparing Microsoft Excel with Microsoft Access, the former stores databases in memory and is fast and optimized for math, the latter can handle more data and is slower and is optimized for searching and reporting. We believe that INSIGHTs method of storing pictures as separate files rather than in a database is much better since there is no danger of picture loss with database corruption and there are no import/export issues.
Our FORESIGHT software has always stored recipes in a fully relational schema and this does make sense if you need to keep track of many thousands of recipes, but many complex issues are introduced with database storage (especially relating to upgrading and level of compromise with relational database principles).
How difficult is it to import and export recipes in INSIGHT?
Put INSIGHT format recipe files from others into your INSIGHT recipe folder (it can handle RCP, RCX and XML formats). INSIGHT now uses the XML file format for its recipes, you can open a recipe in any text editor or word processor; writing programs to process them is thus fairly easy. We are working on importers for other formats.
Is the Macintosh version the poor cousin of the Windows version?
No. They are identical except for various user interface conventions for each (e.g. a Quit menu choice instead of Exit to shut down the program).

Purchasing (Top)

What is the purpose of an INSIGHT key?
INSIGHT used to require an 8-digit personalized serial number. However now it requires a key (typically 100 characters in length) that encodes information about the version, date of purchase, customer name, etc. When INSIGHT runs the first time it presents a dialog into which you enter your digitalfire password and matching email address and click a button to tell INSIGHT to go to the website and get the key. You can also get the key manually at digitalfire.com. A key will run any version of INSIGHT for its period.
What exactly am I buying?
You are buying access to the download page at digitalfire.com for a period of years (depending on the version you buy) and access to the key generation page. The time window and expiry date for each serial number/key you have is shown on the home page. Your key will run any version of INSIGHT for the period it covers, thus an expired key will run an expired version.
What happens when my key expires?
Your INSIGHT will continue to run but you will not be able to download new versions if you have no valid keys. You will have to make sure to record your key incase you need reinstall your expired version on another computer.
Is there a demonstration version?
Yes. You can download a full version by logging in at digitalfire.com and clicking the download link on our home page (there is no charge). Install INSIGHT on your computer and the Get Key dialog will open when it starts. This dialog will enable you to get a 2 month trial key from Digitalfire.com when you supply your digitalfire.com person password and its matching email address.
How much is an upgrade to INSIGHT?
When you login at Digitalfire the home page will list your serial numbers/keys and show the cost to upgrade or renew any of them.
Is the download the same as the CD?
It is better, the latest version of INSIGHT is on our web site. In fact, the CD is normally older than the download version. There is nothing on the CD that you cannot download or viewed online.
Does an INSIGHT key work on the Windows, Linux and Macintosh versions?
Yes.
How can I upgrade INSIGHT?
Login at digitalfire.com and your INSIGHT keys/serial numbers will be listed along with upgrade/renew/buy links (in the pink box on the upper right of the page). Click the appropriate link.

Support (Top)

Can I ask ceramic related questions?
Yes, that is how we learn as well as you. If we do not know the answer likely we can point you in the right direction.
Can I Ask Technical Questions via Email?
Yes, fire away. Click the 'Contact' link on our home page or choose Email Digitalfire Support in the help menu of INSIGHT. The download and various other pages on our site have email forms right on the page.

User Interface (Top)

Why is the main window so complicated?
We do not believe it is. Compare is with some of the others. We believe INSIGHT is a good compromise between simplicity of use and power.
What is the difference between the Materials Lookup and Line Label fields?
INSIGHT needs to know the chemistry for each line in a recipe and it needs to know how to label it in recipe reports and dialogs. In some cases you want to be able to label a line differently than the default name in the materials database, this feature enables the override.
Can I resize the Recipe Window?
Yes (since version 5.35 it dynamically resizes controls to refit).
What is the deal with printing reports in INSIGHT?
When INSIGHT prints a report it writes it out to a file and then calls another program to open and display it. That program can then be used to print the report. You can use the Preferences dialog to tell INSIGHT what program to preview and print reports in (i.e. Internet Explorer, Windows Notepad).


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Frequently Asked Questions

Calculations

Education (Top)

Installation (Top)

Miscellaneous (Top)

Purchasing (Top)

Support (Top)

User Interface (Top)