Common Specifications of PVC Foam Board
In our previous blog, we shared the manufacturing process of PVC foam board.
You may have such a question, since the PVC foam board is an artificial board, what are its specifications? Can any specification be produced?
In the following article, we will introduce the regular specifications of PVC foam board and analyze the reasons for the size limitation from the perspective of a manufacturer.
What Is the Common Size of PVC Foam Board?
WIDTH
The manufacturing process of PVC foam sheet is the same as the manufacturing process of most other plastic sheets, which is produced by extrusion process. Its width is controlled by the molds on the production line. It can be said that the width of the mold determines the maximum width of the plastic sheet that can be produced. It should be noted that the width of the board and the mold are not equal. The edges on both sides of the PVC foam board coming out of the shaping mold are thinner. Therefore, the leftovers on both sides need to be cut off to ensure a uniform thickness of the board. The width of the mold should be larger than the width of the sheet.
At present, the PVC foam sheet production line in China can produce widths of 915mm, 1220mm, 1525mm and 2050mm. Among them, the most common width is 1220mm. Because the width of the plastic sheet is determined by the width of the mold, it is unable to produce a board that is wider than the width of the mold. Currently, Boardway has the capacity to produce PVC foam boards of all four widths.
For the width of the sheet less than the width of the mold, can it be produced? Of course it can be produced, this is what we call a custom PVC foam sheet. To produce PVC foam board of custom width, we can cut the width required by adjusting the position of the blade set on the production line. For example, the customer needs a PVC foam sheet with a width of 1000mm. We can produce it on a production line that produces 1220mm wide sheets, and adjust the blade distance on both sides of the width to 1000mm.
Is it possible to produce 1000mm wide sheets on a production line that produces 1220mm wide sheets without wasting any material? The answer is no, how wide the mold is, how wide the produced sheet is. The leftover material, which is the 220mm sheet that is cut out, will be smashed and reused by us.
However, if a sheet with a width of 610mm is needed, there will be no loss. Because we can add an extra blade in the middle of the two sides of the 1220mm production line, so that the sheet with a width of 610mm can be directly produced on the production line.
THICKNESS
Also controlled by the mold on the production line is the thickness. The distance between the upper and lower parts of the mold determines the thickness of the PVC foam board. The distance can be adjusted to produce the thickness we need. But not any thickness can be produced, and the thickness range of the sheet controlled by a set of molds is limited.
As far as our factory is concerned, we have five different sets of molds to produce PVC foam boards of different thicknesses.
Mold for ultra-thin sheet: 1mm ≤ T ≤ 2mm
Mold for thin sheet: 3mm ≤ T ≤ 8mm
Mold for standard sheet: 10mm ≤ T ≤ 19mm
Mold for thick sheet: 20mm ≤ T ≤ 30mm
Mold for ultra-thick sheet: 31mm ≤ T ≤ 35mm
(T represents the thickness of the PVC foam board)
Can PVC foam boards with thickness over 35mm be produced? In theory, it can be produced with suitable molds. However, since PVC foam boards with a thickness of more than 35mm are not commonly used, we have not yet equipped this mold. If there is such a demand in the future, and the demand is large enough and needed for a long time, we can consider increasing the production line of PVC foam boards with a thickness greater than 35mm.
LENGTH
Is there a limit to the length of the PVC foam board? As can be known from the extrusion production process, its length is not limited. We can produce PVC foam boards of any length according to customer needs.
Generally speaking, the common length of PVC foam board is 2440mm, in addition to 1830mm, 3050mm, 3600mm, 4800mm and 5490mm.
After all, no matter what the application is, we always want to maximize the use of the board. Then, the convenience of packaging and transportation also needs to be considered.
For common size (1220mmx2440mm) PVC foam board, we always stock its packaging materials, and they are easy to order. These packaging materials include protective films, PE bags, cartons, plywood pallets or solid wood fumigation pallets.
For PVC foam boards with large length and width, it may be easy for manufacturers to produce, but we also need to consider its packaging and transportation issues.
First of all, its packaging materials need to be customized. "Custom" means it has a MOQ and a relatively high price.
Second, we also have to consider the transportation. Can the forklift lift up? Can it fit into a container and maximize the use of container space? Is loading or unloading convenient?
The picture below shows one of our domestic orders. This is a custom size PVC concrete formwork with a length of 4900mm, and the widths are 1220mm, 990mm, 955mm, 890mm and 855mm. We can only move and load them by using cranes.
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