Thermoforming is a kind of manufacturing process where the material is heated to a certain temperature and formed into a specific shape in a mold. This technology has been widely used in various industries. The heated platen press is one of the various machines that apply thermoforming technology.
An ideal heated platen press can offer uniform pressure distribution and heat distribution. It can produce a range of laminates, wood & composite panels, and molded/ vulcanized rubber products, etc. Heated platen presses can be made in different structures, such as 2-post, 4-post, C frame, and benchtop, etc.
Generally, there are two platens for one press: lower heated platen and upper heated platen.
According to different heating methods, heated platen presses can be categorized into electrically heated platen presses, oil-heated platen presses, and steam-heated platen presses. Oil heating is suitable for the entire range of composite and rubber molding, bonding, and laminating applications
In some cases, oil heating is more suitable than electric heating, because it can achieve more uniform and even heating results across the whole platen and product. For a heated platen press that adopts the oil heating method, an oil temperature controller will be added as an inherent part of the press. It is independent equipment that can heat the oil. With a temperature sensor installed inside, the controller can also adjust the temperature. Oil channels are built inside the heated platens to guarantee high heating efficiency and uniform heating result across different parts of the platens.
Since the advent of the first servo press, servo technology is often used in machines to increase precision. Likewise, a servo-hydraulic system is usually added to a heated platen press to achieve more precise control of the machine and a higher precision level of the products. The price of a heated platen press with a servo-hydraulic system is higher than ordinary ones, but it is worth the price due to its increased productivity, strict precision, and high performance.
In real applications, a heated platen press may be equipped with multiple daylights(openings). Multiple daylights mean that multiple molds can be used in one press during the same pressing cycle so that they can produce multiple parts, which will ultimately increase productivity.
