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North Star Tile Press North Star Tile Press is made in America!
North Star's Tile Press is the first available hand-operated tile press that uses compressed air pressure to gently and quickly release the finished part from the mold. The Tile Press is capable of making tiles up to 5.5", as well as many other shapes with raised or impressed decorations that have no undercuts. For example, you can create plain and decorated floor and wall tiles, switch plates, jewelry, ashtrays, spoon rests, small plates, saucers, shallow bowls and cups, handles, knobs, electronic porcelain parts, and much more at up to an astounding 100 pieces per hour... and all perfectly formed! The North Star Tile Press offers all the quality and versatility of industrial presses, but in a smaller, much less expensive configuration that is inherently safe in any setting. As with all North Star Equipment, safety is a top priority in the design, engineering, and operation of our Tile Press. Even children with adult supervision may safely operate our Tile Press!
A two-part die made of 'hard plaster' (gypsum cement such as UltraCal™ or Hydrostone™) is mounted on the bottom and center plates and aligned. A wad of clay is placed on the bottom die half and the Wagon Wheel Handle is rotated to bring the two halves of the die together. As they come together, the clay is forced into the impressions of the die. A small puff of compressed air is fed into the bottom die half to release the formed clay. The Wagon Wheel is then rotated backward to raise the center plate and the top die half with the formed clay still clinging to it. A paddle bat is then held under the clay while a puff of air is fed into the top die half, releasing the formed piece to be caught with the paddle bat. The clay piece is then set aside to dry and the process can be immediately repeated.
Tile Press Construction & Specifications The North Star Tile Press is comprised of three aluminum floor plates, each reinforced with 1/2 inch machined-steel stiffeners. The top and bottom plates are connected to each other on both sides and the back by three 1" diameter machined-steel uprights. The center plate slides up and down smoothly and securely on these steel uprights between the top and bottom plates. All three plates are finished with North Star's attractive and durable blue powdercoat instead of paint. An air compressor is required to operate the air release functionality of the Tile Press, and is not included with any of the Tile Press packages. We do not include any air compressors with our Tile Press packages due to the heavy nature of this type of equipment. It is much less expensive for our customers to purchase an air compressor readily available from their own local hardware or building supply center, than to pay the expensive shipping and handling charges they would otherwise incur on this type of equipment.
A mold is made of 'soft plaster', such as Potter Plaster #1. The inside of the mold is usually shaped like the outside of the piece to be made. The 'soft plaster' used to create molds are very absorbent in nature, as this material is designed to 'pull' water away from the clay, much like a sponge. A mold may usually be used only once before it must be allowed to dry before another pressing, so a great many molds are required for any type of production work. A die is usually made from gypsum cement, often called 'hard plaster', such as Ceramical™ or Hydrostone™. A die usually uses clay of throwing consistency which is not further wetted. A die forms the clay in much the same way as a sheet of steel is stamped by a press into a three dimensional shape. Dies have two halves, and each half forms one side of an object being pressed from the clay. These two die halves are brought together under great pressure, forcing the clay placed between them into the impressions contained on each of the die surfaces to form the object. Each die half has a porous mold duct tube embedded into it when the die is made. As compressed air is sent through the mold duct tube, the air escapes into the 'hard plaster' of the die. The escaping air pushes the water, absorbed into the "hard plaster" surface of the die from the clay during pressing, back towards the clay pressed, releasing it very cleanly from the surface of the die. After pressing the clay into the shape of the die, the bottom die half is usually released first. The upper half of the die is then raised with the formed object still clinging to it. A paddle bat is then held under the upper half of the die before using the air to release the clay from the surface of the upper die half. The formed clay object is then released and caught very gently with the paddle bat. That finished clay object is set aside to dry and the entire pressing process can be immediately repeated.
Custom Tile Press Dies can be created by our customers using North Star's 'Die Maker Kit'. Our 'Die Maker Kit' includes everything needed to fabricate your very own custom air-release tile press dies. This includes 2 precut wire mesh pieces (used to retain the mold duct tubing in place during casting), 15 lbs. of 'hard plaster' (Hydrostone™ or UltraCal™ used to cast the dies), 5 ft. of mold duct tubing (embedded within the die casting to provide die release air), 32 wire ties (used to position and retain the mold duct tubing to the wire mesh during casting), 2- 8.25" x 2" Die Rings (used both to pour the castings for the dies, and then to affix the dies to the Tile Press), and 6 alignment pins (used to align the the upper and lower die halves to one another).
Accessory Items are available
with the purchase of the #700 or 702 unit. Prices valid until December 31, 2008.
Published UPS rates and surcharges are rounded up for ease of customer use and to cover insurance charges and the variable Fuel Surcharge. $1.50 per box surcharge for rural deliveries. $5.00 per box surcharge for residential deliveries, capped to a maximum of $20.00 on UPS Hundredweight shipments. Please note:
Showroom Business Hours: Closed Wednesday and Sunday Web Page Last Updated: Dogwood Ceramic Supply, the complete source of ceramic and pottery equipment and supplies for professional and hobby ceramist and potter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
