# Ceramic Hang Risks

| Risk ID | Category | Risk | Verification Test | Mitigation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CHG-RISK-001 | Acoustic | Ceramic tone fields may not sustain like steel handpan fields. | Fire tone coupons and record decay time for at least 12 field geometries. | Pivot to fewer larger fields, a tongue/relief hybrid, or ceramic resonator with metal tone fields. |
| CHG-RISK-002 | Acoustic | First-order plate formulas may miss fired pitch by large margins. | Compare predicted vs measured frequency on coupons and first mini dome. | Build empirical correction table before full 9-note shell. |
| CHG-RISK-003 | Structural | Raised/thinned tone fields may crack during drying or firing. | Inspect coupon and P1/P2 fields at greenware, bone dry, bisque, and glaze stages. | Increase radii, reduce relief depth, slow drying, change clay body. |
| CHG-RISK-004 | Structural | Large slip-cast dome may slump or warp. | Fire a blank dome on proposed setter before tone-field body. | Add support ring, revise dome height, change firing schedule. |
| CHG-RISK-005 | Ergonomic | Ceramic body may be too heavy or fragile for lap playing. | Weigh P2 shell and test seated/stand support with non-playing handling. | Use stand/cradle, reduce wall thickness, design protected rim. |
| CHG-RISK-006 | Finish | Glaze may damp tone fields or change pitch. | Glaze matched coupons and compare before/after decay/pitch. | Use exterior-only, oxide wash, burnish, or unglazed tone zones. |
| CHG-RISK-007 | Supply | Clay body shrinkage may differ from assumption. | Fire shrinkage bars before printing final master. | Update design table and master scale factor. |
| CHG-RISK-008 | Fit/Finish | Post-fire grinding may chip tone fields. | Test diamond tool cleanup on scrap fired coupons. | Tune in greenware/bisque stage; avoid aggressive fired correction. |
| CHG-RISK-009 | Transport | Finished ceramic shell may break in normal handling. | Drop/handling tests only on failed/scrap shells; case fit check. | Design rim bumper and hard/padded transport case. |