Tech Table: Compression molding machines
CW’s third Tech Table represents compression molding machine data collected from information provided by suppliers.
The use of composite materials in compression molding has provided an increasingly attractive opportunity for the fabrication of lightweight, affordable components for a variety of end markets, including automotive, aerospace and others. Compression molding is particularly attractive because of its repeatability and high-volume capability. As a result, compression molding machine manufacturers have accelerated and expanded press offerings over the last few years, from standard presses to tailor-made machines.
This table of vertical-only hydraulic compression molding machines was built with data provided either directly by each supplier, or from published data. It should be noted that CW limited each company in this table to a maximum of eight products, thus it is not a comprehensive list of all presses available from all suppliers. Furthermore, whether each company solely offers standard presses, custom presses or both, has been delineated; to better indicate what is offered to customers, companies that specialize in custom-only capabilities have provided press examples. For more information on these and other composites industry products, please visit the CW SourceBook database to find and identify suppliers.
While CW was unable to receive data from all compression molding press suppliers, prominent companies unlisted — but which should be distinguished in this area — include Magnum Press, Globe Machine, Pacific Press Technologies and Italpresse USA.
This is the third in a series of Tech Tables CW has published in 2020, each designed to provide as comprehensive a list as possible of suppliers, their products and selected product data. CW’s first Tech Table, published in January 2020, covers aerospace structural adhesives, and its second Tech Table, published in August 2020, details mold release agents.
The Tech Table can be found below, or accessed as a downloadable PDF here short.compositesworld.com/DecTechTbl
Tech Table: Compression Molding Presses
|
||||||||||
Company |
Trade/Brand Name |
Press footprint (mm) |
Max Clamping Force (metric tons) |
Heated Platens Offered? (Y/N) |
Heat Source (Electric, Oil, Steam) |
Platen Dimensions (mm) |
Ram/Piston Stroke Length (mm) |
Multiple Daylight Openings? (Y/N) |
Daylight Opening Length (mm) |
Standard press, custom or both? |
4386 Model CH |
483 x 406 |
11 |
Y |
E |
152 x 152 |
125 |
N |
0-381 |
Both |
|
4122 Model 12-12H |
737 x 686 |
11 |
Y |
E |
305 x 305 |
125 |
N |
0-254 |
||
693 Model 25-15H |
813 x 711 |
23 |
Y |
E |
381 x 381 |
165 |
N |
127 |
||
4129 Model 30-12-2H |
813 x 686 |
27 |
Y |
E |
305 x 305 |
152 |
Y |
51-76 |
||
3889 Auto C-NE,H |
940 x 559 x 1,118 |
14 |
Y |
E |
152 x 152 |
152 |
N |
0-356 |
||
3893 Auto Four 1512-NE,H, AutoFour 1512-NE,H |
1,143 x 711 x 1,168 |
14 |
Y |
E |
305 x 305 |
152 |
N |
0-305 |
||
4533 Auto Four 3015-NE,H |
1,143 x 711 x 1,168 |
27 |
Y |
E |
381 x 381 |
152 |
N |
0-305 |
||
5403 Auto Four 4818-NE,H |
1,549 x 1,194 x 1,803 |
44 |
Y |
E |
457 x 457 |
102 |
N |
0-381 |
||
G30H-15 Genesis Compression |
1,067 x 1,016 x 1,829 |
27 |
Y |
E |
381 x 381 |
152 |
Y |
152-305 |
Both |
|
G100H-24 Genesis Compression |
1,524 x 1,346 x 2,108 |
91 |
Y |
E |
610 x 610 |
305 |
Y |
305-559 |
||
GT30H-15 Genesis Transfer |
1,067 x 1,295 x 2,413 |
27 |
Y |
E |
381 x 381 |
152 |
N |
152-305 |
||
VT100H-24 Vantage Transfer |
1,072 x 991 x 2,667 |
91 |
Y |
E |
610 x 610 |
305 |
N |
305-508 |
||
200H-30 Vantage Compression |
2,083 x 1,067 x 2,159 |
181 |
Y |
E |
762 x 762 |
406 |
Y |
406-711 |
||
400H-42 Vantage Compression |
2,438 x 1,219 x 2,159 |
363 |
Y |
E |
1,067 x 1,067 |
406 |
Y |
406-762 |
||
700H-48 Vantage Compression |
2,819 x 1,448 x 3,048 |
635 |
Y |
E |
1,219 x 1,219 |
457 |
Y |
457 |
||
400H-72x48 Custom Compression |
3,327 x 1,702 x 4,013 |
363 |
Y |
E |
1,829 x 1,219 |
610 |
Y |
610 |
||
Beckwood |
Custom |
Up to 4,536 |
Y |
E,O,S |
Custom |
Custom |
Y |
Custom |
Custom |
|
Triform Fluid Cell Sheet Hydroforming |
Varies |
Varies |
N |
N/A |
Round, up to 1,727 diameter |
N/A |
N |
N/A |
||
EVOx C3-100 |
1,626 x 1,143 x 3,454 |
45 |
Y |
E,O,S |
508 x 76 |
Up to 610 |
N |
Up to 610 |
||
EVOx P3-100 4-Post |
1,321 x 1,270 x 3,531 |
45 |
Y |
E |
610 x 914 |
Up to 610 |
N |
Up to 762 |
||
WLP 1600S |
160 |
Y |
E,O |
483 x 381 |
279 |
N |
279 |
Custom |
||
WKP 4400S |
440 |
Y |
E,O |
1,803 x 1,194 |
1,448 |
Y |
1,499 |
|||
WKP 10000S |
1,000 |
Y |
E,O |
1,397 x 1,245 |
1,067 |
Y |
1,600 |
|||
WKP 100000 |
10,000 |
Y |
E,O |
3,302 x 3,734 |
508 |
N |
508 |
|||
DCE 1000 |
1,020 |
Y |
E,O,S |
2,800 x 2,000 |
1,400 |
N |
2,000 |
Both |
||
DCE 1500 |
1,530 |
Y |
E,O,S |
3,200 x 2,200 |
1,800 |
N |
2,400 |
|||
DCE 2000 |
2,039 |
Y |
E,O,S |
3,200 x 2,200 |
1,800 |
N |
2,400 |
|||
DCE 2500 |
2,549 |
Y |
E,O,S |
3,600 x 2,500 |
1,800 |
N |
2,400 |
|||
DCE 3000 |
3,059 |
Y |
E,O,S |
3,600 x 2,500 |
1,800 |
N |
2,400 |
|||
Fiberpress 2500 |
2,549 |
Y |
E,O,S |
3,600 x 2,500 |
2,000 |
N |
2,800 |
|||
Fiberpress 3600 |
3,671 |
Y |
E,O,S |
3,600 x 2,500 |
2,000 |
N |
2,800 |
|||
Fiberpress 5000 |
5,099 |
Y |
E,O,S |
4,000 x 2,800 |
2,000 |
N |
2,800 |
|||
30 Ton Vison |
1,016 x 762 |
27 |
Y |
E |
381 x 381 |
152 |
N |
279 |
Both |
|
100 Ton Vacuum Vision Press |
1,372 x 1,143 |
91 |
Y |
E |
457 x 457 |
152 |
Y |
76 |
||
200 Ton Multi Daylight Press |
1,067 x 1,168 |
181 |
Y |
E |
559 x 559 |
203 |
Y |
305 |
||
400 Ton Vacuum Press |
1,422 x 1,118 |
363 |
Y |
E |
610 x 610 |
508 |
N |
406 |
||
600 Ton Press |
2,108 x 1,626 |
544 |
Y |
E |
1,067 x 1,067 |
838 |
N |
914 |
||
850 Ton Press |
1,549 x 1,067 |
771 |
Y |
E |
1,016 x 1,016 |
762 |
Y |
432 |
||
1300 Ton Multi Daylight |
2,032 x 2,159 |
1,179 |
Y |
E |
1,422 x 1,422 |
Y |
76 |
|||
2200 Ton Press |
2,159 x 1,829 |
1,196 |
Y |
S |
1,626 x 1,626 |
1,016 |
N |
1,219 |
||
Four Post |
Custom |
Unlimited |
Y |
E,O,S |
Custom |
Custom |
Y |
Custom |
Custom |
|
Straight Side |
Custom |
Unlimited |
Y |
E,O,S |
Custom |
Custom |
Y |
Custom |
||
Open Gap - C-Frame |
Custom |
2,000 |
Y |
E,O,S |
Custom |
Custom |
Y |
Custom |
||
Laboratory |
30-100 |
Y |
E,O |
300 x 300 to 600 x 600 |
300-500 |
N |
300-500 |
Custom |
||
TP Stamping |
50-120 |
Y |
E,O |
300 x 600 to 3,000 x 2500 |
500-1,500 |
N |
500-2,000 |
|||
TP Consolidation |
50-2,500 |
Y |
E,O |
500 x 500 to 5,000 x 3500 |
300-800 |
Y |
300-800 |
|||
SMC |
300-5,000 |
N |
1,000 x 600 to 4,000 x 3,000 |
800-2,000 |
N |
800-3,000 |
||||
RTM |
100-1,500 |
Y |
E,O |
600 x 600 to 10,000 x 3,000 |
300-600 |
N |
400-1,110 |
|||
Ballistic |
300-7,000 |
Y |
E,O |
600 x 600 to 1,700 x 2,600 |
500-1,500 |
Y |
600-2,000 |
|||
Honeycomb forming |
100-500 |
Y |
E,O |
1,200 x 1,200 to 3,000 x 4,000 |
400-1,000 |
Y |
400-1,500 |
|||
R&D |
30-1,500 |
Y |
E,O,S |
300 x 300 to 4,000 x 3,000 |
300-2,200 |
Y |
300-2,500 |
|||
Custom (10,000 kN) |
867 |
Y |
E, O, S |
2,000 x 1,600 |
1,700 |
Y |
Both |
|||
Custom (18,000 kN) |
1,632 |
Y |
E, O, S |
2,800 x 1,800 |
1,800 |
Y |
||||
Custom (25,000 kN) |
2,243 |
Y |
E, O, S |
2,800 x 2,000 |
1,800 |
Y |
||||
Custom (36,000 kN) |
3,263 |
Y |
E, O, S |
3,600 x 2,400 |
1,900 |
Y |
||||
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-50 |
Custom |
50-500 |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
Custom |
|
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-500 |
Custom |
500-1,000 |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
||
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-1000 |
Custom |
1,000-1,500 |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
||
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-1500 |
Custom |
1,500-2,000 |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
||
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-2000 |
Custom |
2,000-2,500 |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
||
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-2500 |
Custom |
2,500-3,000 |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
||
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-3000 |
Custom |
3,000-3,500 |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
||
Macrodyne Model No. PPM-3500+ |
Custom |
3,500+ |
Y |
E,O,S |
To spec |
To spec |
Y |
To spec |
Related Content
Large-format 3D printing enables toolless, rapid production for AUVs
Dive Technologies started by 3D printing prototypes of its composite autonomous underwater vehicles, but AM became the solution for customizable, toolless production.
Read MorePlant tour: Joby Aviation, Marina, Calif., U.S.
As the advanced air mobility market begins to take shape, market leader Joby Aviation works to industrialize composites manufacturing for its first-generation, composites-intensive, all-electric air taxi.
Read MoreManufacturing the MFFD thermoplastic composite fuselage
Demonstrator’s upper, lower shells and assembly prove materials and new processes for lighter, cheaper and more sustainable high-rate future aircraft.
Read MoreThe potential for thermoplastic composite nacelles
Collins Aerospace draws on global team, decades of experience to demonstrate large, curved AFP and welded structures for the next generation of aircraft.
Read MoreRead Next
Compression molding press technology adapts to meet new composite material processing requirements
Faster compression molding presses keep pace with new highly loaded, low-flow thermoplastics and thermosets.
Read MoreVIDEO: High-rate composites production for aerospace
Westlake Epoxy’s process on display at CAMX 2024 reduces cycle time from hours to just 15 minutes.
Read More“Structured air” TPS safeguards composite structures
Powered by an 85% air/15% pure polyimide aerogel, Blueshift’s novel material system protects structures during transient thermal events from -200°C to beyond 2400°C for rockets, battery boxes and more.
Read More