The Counters Blog

An important application devised in the 1920s was the use of phenolic laminate fabric for gears; cut on conventional hobbing machines, the gears were tough and quiet, which was important for automotive timing gears. Post-war, engineering uses declined, ceasing in 1970 in favor of decorative laminates. The number of plies of kraft used yielded products of varying thickness depending upon end-use requirements. Finally, another polished stainless steel press plate was placed on top of the pack assembly. The huge hydraulic presses, perhaps 5 feet by 12 feet, had many heated openings thus many laminates could be produced in a single press cycle of about one hour duration.This sanding operation also increased the back surface area so the more secure bonding to a substrate such as a kitchen counter could be achieved. Breaking off even a small corner rendered the sheet unusable (and not repairable or recyclable). The phenolic resin turned very dark brown during curing, so that a narrow brown line would show when the material was later used in a countertop. Use of the cellulosic paste allowed using a deeply textured, or even sculptured, metal press sheet atop the decorative sheet, producing a formed surface. They would carve into this cement an illustration, such as natural slate in negative form. It was thought that such an approach would lead to producing large panels, usable for example as wall decor in a hotel lobby or corporate office.
Diy How To Do Basic Installation Of Arborite / Laminate | Duration 5 Minutes 55 Seconds Originally used to replace mica in electrical applications, it has since been manufactured for a variety of applications. Then several plies or layers of kraft paper impregnated with a phenolic resin were placed on top of the decorative layer. On the other side of this plate another similar assembly was built until there were several laminates in one press pack to go into a single opening in the hydraulic press. A variant was to use a slightly roughened steel sheet atop the cover sheet, producing a laminate with a matte surface. After being removed from the press, the individual laminates were sanded on the phenolic kraft side to a uniform thickness. Those sheets were more brittle than potato chips, hence easily damaged. The proposal was to bypass the entire process of making paper and impregnating individual sheets, to be subsequently laminated. The melamine-impregnated cover sheets would be laid atop that, in forming the press packs. Secondly, laminates traditionally made from plies of paper have different length and cross physical properties and the industry grew and developed based on rectangular laminates so cross-plying was not possible. A further advantage may have been that the core material could be impregnated with a pigment, approximately matching the color of the top sheet that would later be applied. The product simulating natural slate proved to be a very popular product and was a leading seller for many years.

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