FramePress Pro systems
Although we build FramePress Pro’s to any size you specify, more than half of those installed have had frames with internal dimensions of 3125mm x 1325mm or over size
10’ x 4’ in old money. All FramePress Pro’s are installed by our own fitting team and each of the support trestles is laser levelled prior to the installation of the vacuum bed itself. This ensures that the bed is completely true and flat - essential if you are producing curved panels that have to fit anything!
FramePress Pro - FPP84
Internal dimensions of frame - 1325mm x 2550mm
Height of standard polyurethane box membrane - 500mm
Vacuum flow rate - 40m3 per hour
Vacuum level - 85% - 8.5 tonnes per m2
UK RRP - £13250 ex VAT (£15900.00 inc VAT)
FramePress Pro - FPP104
Internal dimensions of frame - 1325mm x 3125mm
Height of standard polyurethane box membrane - 500mm
Vacuum flow rate - 40m3 per hour
Vacuum level - 85% - 8.5 tonnes per m2
UK RRP - £14850 ex VAT (£17820.00 inc VAT)
Flat or Box Membrane?
There is some debate (although not in our workshop!) as to whether it is better to have a flat but stretchy membrane (such as silicone or latex) or one that is less elastic (polyurethane) but which has been fabricated into a three dimensional box shape. Our experience is that a box membrane is by far the more useful and reliable membrane type, and although we have a frame fitted with a flat latex membrane for one of our production presses it has been more than three years since we used it. In fact, the managing director of the company is the only member of staff who has ever seen it in use!
So why do we advocate the use of box membranes so strongly?
The first consideration is the workable size of the press. If you have a flat membrane, as the height of your mould increases the workable size of your press reduces, as you have to allow a border around the mould to allow to the frame to close without excessive strain being placed on the membrane-to-frame fixing system. With a box membrane the mould can extend to almost the full internal size of the frame with no problems whatsoever. The other consideration is the level of pressure that is being exerted on the panel when it is in the press. The edges of a panel being pressed under a flat membrane will not only be exposed to atmospheric pressure but also a significant additional pressure caused by the tension in the stretched membrane material. This can result in glue migration and therefore uneven moisture distribution in the panel. This can cause distortion of the panel as the glue fully cures and the glue line dries out. With a box membrane there is ‘spare’ material built into the membrane itself and so you can tuck loose membrane around the mould and once under vacuum you can be sure that the entire panel is only exposed to perfectly even atmospheric pressure. We acknowledge that a flat membrane in use looks much better in photographs but we are a manufacturer of vacuum presses and curved panels, not a model agency!
A FramePress Pro