Method of making an engineered composite material and products produced therefrom

1. A method of making an article comprising:

mixing a filler material and a polymer matrix material to produce a composite material;

introducing the composite material produced by the mixing into a mold of a desired shape; and

removing an article having the desired shape from the mold;

wherein the resulting article has a water absorption of less than about one percent and the filler material comprises vitreous china.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of grinding, pulverizing, or crushing a precursor material to produce the filler material prior to the mixing;

wherein the filler material comprises particles with a size in the range of about 1 to about 2000 micrometers.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the filler material further comprises core sand, and wherein the method further comprises removing a binder material from the core sand prior to the mixing.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising heat treating the article at a temperature between about 250° F. and 350° F. for a period of between about 1 and 3 hours.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising coloring the filler material prior to the mixing.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising mixing additional fillers or additives with the filler material and polymeric matrix material in an amount of up to about 20% by weight.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the article is a sink.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the article is a shower receptor, bathtub, countertop, or integrated top and bowl single structure.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixing step comprises mixing between about 10% and 70% by weight polymer matrix material and between about 30% and 90% by weight filler to produce the composite material.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the filler material further comprises sand.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymer matrix material comprises a polymer resin material or a mixture of polymer resin materials.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vitreous china comprises:

between about 50% and 80% by weight SiO 2 ,

between about 10% and 30% by weight Al 2 O 3 ,

between about 0% and 4% by weight Na 2 O 3 ,

between about 0% and 4% by weight K 2 O,

between about 0% and 3% by weight TiO 2 , and

between about 0% and 5% by weight MgO.

13. A method of making a composite material comprising:

mixing a filler material comprising vitreous china and a polymer matrix material to produce a composite material;

wherein the resulting composite material has a water absorption of less than about one percent.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising at least one of grinding, pulverizing, or crushing a precursor material to produce the filler material prior to the mixing;

wherein the filler material comprises particles with a size in the range of about 1 to about 2000 micrometers.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the filler material further comprises core sand, and wherein the method further comprises removing a binder material from the core sand prior to the mixing.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising coloring the filler material prior to the mixing.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising mixing additional fillers or additives with the filler material and polymeric matrix material in an amount of up to about 20% by weight.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the mixing step comprises mixing between about 10% and 70% by weight polymer matrix material and between about 30% and 90% by weight filler to produce the composite material.

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the filler material further comprises sand.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the polymer matrix material comprises a polymer resin material or a mixture of polymer resin materials.