5 Tips to Improve the Performance of Your Membrane Vacuum Press When Working with Krion, Corian, or All Kinds of Solid Surfaces.
Many transformers think it is impossible to thermoform a deep sink with a vacuum press.
We will see below how you can improve the performance of your vacuum press when working with Krion, Corian, or all kinds of solid surfaces to achieve the ultimate goal. Solid SurfaceA deep sink at the lowest possible cost.
These are just 5 tips, but they are essential to successfully thermoforming a deep sink with only 1,5 meters of solid surface.
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Work with the best brands.
They're not always the most expensive, and in the end, cheap can often lead to very costly surprises. The best brands, according to repair shops, are the following.
Your choice of one brand or another should depend more on criteria such as available colors, stock of material when you need it, the salesperson's ability to allow production and timely delivery of your project, etc., than on the final price per square meter.
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Use a reliable membrane press and oven.
Lately, a few scary vacuum membrane presses have appeared out of nowhere. Four tubes, a silicone membrane, and a vacuum pump placed next to an oven does NOT mean we have a good tool for thermoforming acrylic resins. Remember that the plate of Solid Surface It must be heated to 160°C. At lower temperatures, it won't stretch as much as it should. Above 175°C, it loses elasticity and breaks more easily. In short, we must control the temperature. from the iron itselfKnowing only the oven temperature and calculating the time using 2 minutes per millimeter of thickness isn't enough. We've found that each sheet size requires a specific time. And remember, Corian is too expensive to afford experimenting.
The following table indicates the temperature to which you should heat each material depending on the brand.
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Make a vacuum-proof mold
To give you an idea of how strong your mold needs to be, consider that a good vacuum press produces 9 tons of pressure per square meter. In other words, a 10 x 10 cm area in your mold will be subjected to 90 kg of pressure. But be aware that vacuum pressure is also exerted laterally. A mold made with 18 or 20 mm plywood will be sufficient to manufacture more than 150 sinks. Don't forget to drill a hole in the bottom of your mold to force the vacuum into the sink cavity.
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Your mold has to be MAGICS
- MAcizo: It is advisable to use solid or semi-solid molds to avoid implosions
- ÁRounded corners: Protect your membrane by sanding all the corners of the molds
- Grande: By oversizing the mold, we allow for cuts to clean the pieces.
- IInclined: To facilitate air escape and improve the depth of the 3D part.
- Cconcave: To avoid creases in the Solid SurfaceWe prefer concave molds.
- SSmooth and even: In order to avoid stress or breakage in the Corian, use polyester (bodywork) putty for the mold finish
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The oven is the key.
If you don't control the temperature at the core of the plate, you're in the Stone Age.
Twenty years ago, a few heated bars and a lot of artistry were enough for us. There wasn't much choice. Then came the kilns with a PT100 probe that monitored the heat produced, but we still didn't know the temperature of our piece. Solid SurfaceCurrently, there are ovens with triple probes: a PT100 and 2 type J probes. The latter allow us to monitor not only the heat produced by the oven, but also the temperature at the core of the griddle. Solid SurfaceThe third probe allows us to monitor the temperature beneath the membrane during cooling.
