Neolith, created by The Size in Castellon, Spain, is a sintered stone that has seen increased popularity in the U.S. due to its versatility. While the material feels new to a lot of people, the sintering process has been around for a while. It is a method for creating objects from different types of powders, including the mineral, metal and ceramic variety. As such, sintering has been traditionally used for manufacturing ceramic objects, but there are common applications found across many industrial fields.
“It is basically the process of using natural materials in powder form and processing them, usually under heat, pressure, or both, to create a desired product,” said Mar Esteve Cortes, Neolith director. “In the case of sintered stone for building products, natural materials are ground to a powder and subjected to specific heat and pressure to produce the desired end results.