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Popular equipment for cutting porcelain stoneware

Articles

27 March 2025

Porcelain stoneware was originally developed as a durable material for flooring, but in recent years, its installation has become increasingly popular and it is now used for a wide range of purposes:

Wall and floor installation
Countertop fabrication
Shower tray design
Creation of niches and shelves
Decorative finishes for hoods and ventilation systems
Fabrication of flush buttons and plumbing access panels
Creation of decorative light switches and sockets

Thanks to such a wide range of applications, processing porcelain stoneware has become a crucial topic. Manufacturers of cutting equipment and consumables are constantly improving, releasing new solutions to make the work of tile professionals easier.

Features of Porcelain Stoneware

Before diving into the topic of equipment for cutting porcelain stoneware, it’s important to understand the characteristics that have made this material so popular and how they affect its processing.
Porcelain stoneware is a type of engineered stone made from clay, feldspar, quartz, and natural stone. This mixture is pressed into special molds and fired at temperatures exceeding 1000°C. This manufacturing method makes porcelain stoneware similar to various types of natural stone but also gives it additional properties that offer significant advantages over natural materials:

Mechanical strength
High wear resistance
Low water absorption (less than 0.5%)
Resistance to temperature fluctuations
Resistance to chemical substances

These properties make porcelain stoneware suitable for use in residential interiors, exterior applications, commercial spaces, offices, and even in industrial settings.
Thanks to these features, porcelain stoneware can last for decades with virtually no wear or loss of quality. These advantages make it the No. 1 finishing material in modern construction.

Another distinguishing feature of porcelain stoneware is its size range. Tiles are available in dimensions from 150 x 150 mm to 3200 x 2600 mm and in thicknesses from 3 mm to 30 mm. This wide range allows any customer to find the perfect tile to suit their interior.

In addition to size, porcelain stoneware comes in various surface finishes:

Glossy finish
Matte porcelain
Semi-matte tiles
Textured (relief) surfaces

Now that we understand what porcelain stoneware is, we can move on to the topic of the equipment used for cutting it.

Manual tile cutter

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Manual Tile Cutter

A manual tile cutter consists of several components:

A small table
A tungsten carbide scoring wheel
A guide rail for moving the wheel
A handle for moving the wheel along the guide
Clamping jaws to hold the tile on the table
A breaking mechanism for snapping the tile
Additional guides for cutting large-format tiles
A square and ruler for marking
A laser level for precise cutting

The process of cutting porcelain stoneware with a manual tile cutter is similar to cutting glass with a glass cutter. The carbide wheel is used to score a line on the tile with a specific amount of pressure, and then the tile is snapped along the scored line using the breaking mechanism.

This tool is suitable for cutting relatively thin (3 to 10 mm) porcelain tiles with a smooth surface. Even with thin tiles, however, there is always a risk that the tile may break along an unintended line.

As porcelain is processed with a manual cutter, the carbide wheel gradually loses its scoring ability, so it needs to be replaced periodically. These wheels cannot be resharpened and are considered consumables.

Electric Tile Cutter

An electric tile cutter consists of a table and a motor with a diamond blade mounted on the spindle, usually 180–250 mm in diameter, although in recent years, models designed for 115–125 mm blades have been gaining popularity.

The electric tile cutter allows cutting porcelain stoneware of any thickness and up to 1200 mm in size, both at a straight 90-degree angle and at 45 degrees. Cutting on this type of equipment is always performed with a cooling fluid, which prevents overheating of both the blade and the material.

Many professionals associate wet cutting of porcelain tiles with minimal chipping along the edges, which is why this equipment is often used for the most precise and high-quality cuts. While electric tile cutters are gradually becoming less popular, they still offer several advantages that attract tile professionals:

High-quality edge finish
Perfectly straight cuts
Dust-free operation
Ergonomic design

Angle Grinder

For processing porcelain stoneware, 125 mm angle grinders (AGs) are predominantly used in combination with diamond blades 115–125 mm. Most professionals prefer corded 125 mm grinders and perform cutting in dry mode. In recent years, manufacturers of diamond tools have made great strides in developing blades specifically designed for dry cutting porcelain stoneware. Today, there are numerous types of diamond blades available for both fine cutting and 45-degree mitre cuts.

A growing trend in recent years is the popularity of smaller diameter blades, with some professionals now favoring diamond blades 76 mm. These are used with special 76 mm battery-powered grinders, which support wet cutting. These compact and highly maneuverable tools are becoming increasingly popular among tile installers.

Overall, using an angle grinder is one of the most popular methods for cutting porcelain tiles, thanks to several key advantages:

Affordable equipment and consumables
Independent operation (with battery-powered grinders)
Lightweight and compact design
Versatility – allows straight cuts, curved cuts, 45° beveling, hole drilling, and edge finishing
Suitable for tiles of any thickness and size
No water or mess during cutting

Guide Rail

Guide Rails

Guide rails are composed of aluminum profiles, which can be assembled to reach lengths of up to 4000 mm (for processing large-format porcelain tiles), vacuum suction cups that firmly secure the rail to the tile surface, and a cutting unit. Several types of equipment can serve as the cutting element of the guide rail:

Manual carbide scoring tool
Electric drive for diamond blades
Angle grinder with a diamond blade

The primary purpose of guide rails is to cut medium and large-format porcelain tiles ranging from 1200 to 3600 mm. Such large tiles cannot be effectively cut using traditional manual or electric tile cutters, and cutting them with an angle grinder alone may result in an imprecise, non-linear cut.

Rotary Tool (Engraver)

Recently, rotary tools—commonly used in dental labs, jewelry making, artistic carving, and precision engineering—have also found their place in the field of porcelain stoneware processing. Their popularity in this area is due to their compact size, delicate handling, and the use of small diamond blades 45 mm. Thanks to this equipment, tile specialists are now able to perform highly detailed work on porcelain stoneware, such as:

Decorative finishing of hoods and ventilation systems
Fabrication of flush buttons and plumbing access panels
Creation of decorative sockets and light switches

Such precise work is made possible by very fine and thin blades. For example, the Butterfly blade by Distar has a diameter of 45 mm and a thickness of just 0.6 mm.

Engravers are used primarily for cutting various rectangular openings for installations and are not intended for full tile cutting or layout. The main purpose of this equipment is to make ultra-precise, clean cuts without chipping.

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