Heat-plate drilling
Left: punch tool for marking the plate mount
Right: punch tool to mark heater block mount holes, to be used on the heat-plate as well
Turning the press plate safely
Use a hoist and a forklift. The plate weights 210 KG
Installing the top plate
Framework /Assembly aids
Weld nuts on the frame, gently! This allows for easier assembling without opening the press-plate.
Rails
If you can’t make it precise, make it adjustable! The laser file can be found here
Adjustable feets
Make the feets height adjustable! This is required for 1m+ sheet presses and affects the overall sliding of the press plates significantly. You need also a big level to make sure that the framework is perfectly square.
Heating block wiring
Since those cartridge heaters may fail over time, leave the cable accessible.
Build small islands of max. 1.2kW each. That makes it easy to find failed heaters as well. You can find a failed heater by using a multi-meter. Check that each phase of the heater has infinity resistance to the ground.
Framework ribs
By reducing contact to the frame, you can reduce heat transfer to the frame and save energy as well. The frame can heat up to 100 C.
Lower - Structure
The framework beams are often bent and the structure itself too. The easier is
- to bolt the brackets on the lower structure
- put and keep the brackets in place, using height gauges or blocks
- weld the brackets on the frame
Unpacking / Packaging
The box size for the 1.2m version is 1.80m x 1.5m. The entire package is about 450 KG. Try to keep the mass center on one side in case you have a small forklift.
