1. Overview
The Carver 4386 Bench-Top Heated Press is a compact laboratory press designed for preparing polymer films, laminates, composites, and molded plaques under controlled heat and pressure. It provides dual heated platens, precise temperature control, and reproducible pressing conditions for material development and quality testing.
Features
- Manually operated
- Clamping force 12 tons
- Daylight opening 0″ – 15″ (Factory set at 5”)
- Stroke 5-1/8”
- Two (2) fully threaded columns
- Heated platen package, including:
- Two (2) 6” x 6” electrically heated steel platens
- 700 watts per platen
- Temperature range up to 650 deg F
- One (1) digital temperature controller per platen
2. Principle
The system applies a controlled compressive load through hydraulic force while heated platens soften thermoplastic materials or activate curing reactions in thermosets. By adjusting temperature, pressure, and residence time, users can achieve uniform thickness films or molded sheets suitable for further analysis.
3. Data Interpretation / Output
- Produces uniform polymer films or plaques for characterization
- Thickness can be measured to evaluate processing consistency
- Allows comparison of effects of temperature, pressure, dwell time on material performance
- Specimens can be used for DSC, DMA, TGA, tensile, optical, or electrical testing
4. Example Applications
- Hot-pressing thermoplastic or thermoset materials
- Preparing thin films for FTIR, UV-Vis, XRD
- Compression-molding plaques for mechanical testing
- Laminating composites or fiber-reinforced sheets
- Evaluating processing behavior during formulation screening or additive development