Laminating Presses
Laminating presses are manually-operated hydraulic presses that function to bond together various layers of polymeric materials onto other substrates including:
- Paper
- Wood
- Glass
- Metals
- Copper
- Brass
- Stainless Steel
Quick links to Laminating Presses Information
Benefits to Laminating Substrates
Through the bonding process, laminating presses are able to provide these substrates with additional beneficial characteristics:
- UV-Protection
- Water-Proofing
- Light-Resistance
Design of Laminating Presses
Laminating presses have multiple openings, one for each plate, and precise controls for temperature and pressure. Multilayer laminating presses apply both pressure and heat to laminate and prepreg to make multilayer boards.
Typically, laminating presses are a type of hydraulic platen press, which are defined by the large, heavy, flat metal plates that they use in order to crush and condense materials. In a laminating platen press, the bottom platen typically remains stationary, while the top one moves up and down. The movement of the top platen is powered by hydraulics, which is defined as movement or operation through the use of pressure created by liquids, typically water.
Applications of Laminating Presses
Laminating presses are utilized in a wide range of applications and industries including:
- Sports and Recreation
- Industrial Manufacturing
- Construction
- Research
- Electronics
- Commercial Uses
- Small Desktop Machines
Operating Laminating Presses
Industrial-sized laminating presses feature stacked heating and cooling platens, laminating presses operate by heating one opening of the press while cooling the other; thus, fast lamination results are achieved.
- The platens of the laminating press may be heated by steam, oil, or electrically.
- Once heated, the polymeric material, which could include plastics such as vinyl, polyester or polyurethane, is melted and adheres to the substrate.
- When cooled, the material bonds to the surface of the substrate, resulting in a thin layer of protective polymeric material.