Vacuum Press

What is a Vacuum Press and How Does it Work?

The simplest type of vacuum press uses a sealable bag and some form of vacuum generator. By placing materials in the bag, sealing it and then sucking out most of the air, a pressure differential is created between the reduced pressure inside the bag and atmosphere on the outside. It is this pressure differential that is used in vacuum pressing.

Most vacuum pumps and generators achieve around 85% vacuum. As atmospheric pressure is about 10 tonnes per square metre, this means that a pressure of 8.5 tonnes per square metre is being exerted on everything inside the bag.

Why buy a Bagpress?

The introduction of vacuum pressing to the education market is one of the most exciting developments in design and technology in recent years. The process of vacuum pressing is very simple yet it produces professional quality results and the potential for its uses are limitless.

Typical school projects might include making chairs, skateboards, salad servers, picture frames and clocks.

The Bagpress system that you buy for your school is not a defeatured, smaller scale, educational version of the equipment but is exactly the same piece of machinery that is sold into a wide variety of industrial manufacturers throughtout the world. It allows you to teach the design and prototyping process far more thoroughly than if you are having to use the alternative ‘male and female former’ method of laminating.

What can a Bagpress do for your students?

Many school lamination projects using the traditional male/female tooling system have failed over the years due to the difficulty in producing accurately matched pairs of moulds. Vacuum pressing overcomes this problem by only requiring a single mould, and this can be cut from a block of styrofoam or extruded polystyrene. This dramatically increases the amount of time a student has available to devote to the product itself and enables much easier fine tuning of the design. This exposes the student to a true prototyping and product development cycle as would happen in industry.

The use of a mould and the repeatability of the process also allows students to consider batch production techniques and the way in which jigs and other tooling can be used to ensure efficiency and accuracy in manufacture.

How easy is it to use?

The range of projects that can be tackled is wide and a Bagpress system can be safely used by every age of student from primary through to graduate level. In many cases we are told that the Bagpress never gets put away as there is always someone who needs to use it at some point during the day.

Prices

(excluding VAT)

Starter Pack

Products	Price	Buy
Vacuum Press Starter Pack. (Includes 8m³ per hour vacuum press, 1300 x 2500mm bag, footswitch, 180mm Pizzi glue spreader, two 5kg cross linking D3 PVA adhesive, Nested mould kit 1, 1940 x 810 x 118mm mould making foam, two 1525 x 1525 x 1.5mm birch plywood, two 2440 x 1220 x 5mm flexiply, two 2440 x 1220 x 8mm flexiply, 2440 x 1220mm flexiveneer - choose either oak, cherry, ash, sapele or maple, 500ml finishing oil, two 19mm wide self adhesive veneer tape, free veneer offcuts pack) Order Code: MM-VPPACK1	£2,230.00

Professional Electric Kits

Products	Price	Buy
Pro4 Electric Vacuum Press Kit. 4m³ per hour, 240V, Dry running pump, 85% vacuum, supplied with 1300x2500mm 300 micron polyurethane bag & carrying frame. Built-in vacuum gauge & footswitch assembly - 8mm tube Order Code: MM-VACPRESS1	£1,100.00
Pro8 Electric Vacuum Press Kit. 8m³ per hour, 240V, Dry running pump, 85% vacuum, supplied with 1300x2500mm 300 micron polyurethane bag & carrying frame. Built-in vacuum gauge & footswitch assembly - 8mm tube Order Code: MM-VACPRESS2	£1,230.00

Low Cost Electric Kits

Products	Price	Buy
Minipress Mkll Electric Kit. 85% vacuum, supplied with 800 x 1300mm, 200 micron polyurethane bag Order Code: MM-VACPRESS3	£550.00

Spare Bags

Products	Price	Buy
1300 x 800mm, 200 micron Seamless Polyurethane Bag Kit (for Minipress MKll). Includes sealing strips, bag connector and storage tube. Order Code: MMP-VP-BAG1	£125.00
1300 x 2500mm, 300 micron Seamless Polyurethane Bag Kit (for Pro4 and Pro8). Includes sealing strips, bag connector and storage tube. Order Code: MMP-VP-BAG2	£189.00

Mould Kits

Bagpress have developed three sets of pre-cut moulds for schools referred to as Nested Mould Kits 1, 2 & 3. They have a selection of moulds for specific projects such as salad servers and chair backs as well as a variety of abstract circular and elliptical curves and wave forms which can be used in the production of a wine rack for example.

The abstract forms ensure that students aren’t all tempted to make exactly the same thing. They can study the shapes available and use these to inspire their own imagination and creativity for personal design projects. These mould kits offer an ideal way to ‘hit the ground running’ when you first purchase a vacuum press system.

Products	Price	Buy
Nested Mould Kit 1 - eight moulds including salad servers, child’s chair, triangular clock and three semicircles Order Code: MT-VP-MKIT1	£250.00
Nested Mould Kit 2 - seven moulds of abstract shapes including elliptical curves, wave forms and 90° radiused bends Order Code: MT-VP-MKIT2	£250.00
Nested Mould Kit 3 - two conical moulds, one circular curve and one elliptical Order Code: MT-VP-MKIT3	£199.00
Mould Kit 1 + Mould Kit 2 Order Code: MT-VP-MKIT12	£430.00
Mould Kit 1 + Mould Kit 3 Order Code: MT-VP-MKIT13	£385.00
Mould Kit 2 + Mould Kit 3 Order Code: MT-VP-MKIT23	£385.00
Mould Kit 1 + Mould Kit 2 + Mould Kit 3 Order Code: MT-VP-MKIT123	£585.00

Adhesive

At Bagpress they tried and tested more than 15 different types of PVA before choosing the one they now use in their own manufacturing workshop and this is the same product we sell. 99% of all the panels they laminate and veneer are bonded using a high grade D3 (water resistant) PVA adhesive. This type of adhesive has improved significantly in the last 20 years and, with the introduction of specialist materials such as flexible plywood can now be considered as ideal for most veneering and laminating jobs.

Products	Price	Buy
5kg Bagpress D3 PVA - waterproof & creep resistant adhesive - ideal for vacuum pressing Order Code: MMP-VP-PVA1	£57.00

Glue Spreader

The Pizzi glue spreader is the only spreader we use here at Bagpress and, once you’ve used one, you won’t want to use anything else.

Products	Price	Buy
180mm Hand Held Pizzi Glue Spreader with Rubber Roller Order Code: MT-VP-GLSP1	£185.00

Flexible Plywood

The core material used for creating curves and shapes is a flexible plywood which is extremely versatile and bendy until bonded with adhesive and other layers such as birch plywood or veneer when it then holds its rigid form. We supply flexiply in 3, 5 and 8mm thicknesses.

Products	Price	Buy
1220 x 2440 x 3mm Flexible Plywood Order Code: TA-PLYFS-3	£70.00
1220 x 2440 x 5mm Flexible Plywood Order Code: TA-PLYFS-5	£76.00
1220 x 2440 x 8mm Flexible Plywood Order Code: TA-PLYFS-8	£88.00

Thin Plywood

We supply birch plywood in 0.8mm thick 1200 x 1200mm sheets and 1.5mm thicknesses in 1525 x 1525mm sheets.

Products	Price	Buy
1220 x 1200 x 0.8mm Birch Plywood Order Code: TA-PLYBS-08	£60.00
1525 x 1525 x 1.5mm Birch Plywood Order Code: TA-PLYBS-15	£60.00

Veneers

We have a mixed pack of coloured veneers - ideal for all your veneering projects

Products	Price	Buy
Mixed Pack of 4 flexiveneer sheets each measuring 1220mm x 610mm. Ideal for laser cutting. One sheet each of American Cherry, Ash, American White Oak and Maple Order Code: TA-VENPK4	£153.00

Need Assistance?

If you would like to talk to us, please:

Call us: +44(0) 1745 535007
Email us: sales@techsoft.co.uk

Vacuum Press

Starter Pack

Professional Electric Kits

Low Cost Electric Kits

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