American-Made Plywood Platens
Venango Machine Company is a leading manufacturer of premium American-made plywood platens for producing plywood, MDF, OSB, and other composite wood products. The high-quality platens for the engineered wood industry from Venango are renowned for their even heat distribution, impressive durability, and impeccable efficiency in throughput and operating costs. Used to thoroughly heat, bond, and laminate the different material layers used in these composite products, plywood platens are expected to provide reliable performance with considerable longevity. Continue reading to learn more about how the decades of experience at Venango Machine allow them to manufacture high-quality platens for plywood and other composite wood products, and refurbish or replace damaged equipment, and they can work with you to develop a custom plywood platen for unique applications.
Different Plywood Platens from Venango Machine
While the basic construction of a plywood platen remains the same across different applications, one critical element can be selectively chosen to address unique product requirements. The specific feature in question is how the platen is heated to achieve the desired results. The predominant heating options for companies manufacturing plywood, MDF, OSB, and other composite wood products are steam and thermal fluid.
Electrically heated platens, also offered by Venango Machine, are not typically used in this industry due to the considerable energy demands they require. The most common design for each of these heating methods is the TYPE MS, or Milled Slot Platen, as it can meet the expansive size requirements (4’ x 8’) demanded by the industry and is strong enough to withstand the pressure needed to compress the materials as well as the intense heating and cooling cycles.
- Steam Plywood Platens: Steam platens are widely used in the engineered wood industry as they are a cost-effective and reliable method to uniformly heat the entire product surface and cure the adhesives used in production. If consistently maintained, steam platens can provide years of reliable performance even under continuous operation. Steam platens offer exceptional temperature control and are routinely used for applications that require between 200℉ and 350℉.
- Thermal Fluid Plywood Platens: These plywood platens are heated using specialty thermal oils, water, or glycol. The heated fluid travels through the platen in a closed-loop system and is heated to the desired temperature before being recirculated. Thermal fluid platens offer superior temperature control and can reach temperatures as high as 450℉ to help cure more demanding adhesives used in production.
Developing Custom Plywood Platens
Venango Machine prides itself on its ability to handle unique platen requirements for the engineered wood industry and can develop a custom product that exceeds all performance expectations. Our experienced design and engineering team has developed custom products that address specific or non-standard size requirements from standard 4’ x 8’ plywood boards to the more narrow boards found in composite flooring. We’ve built custom platens to seamlessly fit countless different press manufacturers, provide diverse temperature ranges to cure different adhesives, and withstand varying pressures required to sufficiently compress the numerous layers together. As the world relentlessly pursues using composite materials as a more sustainable alternative to natural wood, Venango will continue to advance its custom design capabilities to meet challenging and exciting advancements in the industry.
Refurbishing or Replacing Damaged Plywood Platens
Not only can Venango Machine develop custom plywood platens for unique product requirements, but they can also refurbish or replace damaged equipment to help save the added costs of total replacement. Any drop in surface flatness, temperature control, or other imperfections created through consistent use should be immediately addressed to ensure there is no drop in product quality and rise in heating costs that impact the final margin. The refurbishing program at Venango Machine has the knowledge and experience to re-machine steam and thermal fluid platens back to their original condition. Beyond that, the team can also repair or even modify the heating systems of existing platens to meet new production specifications or to accommodate new press openings.
Contact Venango for Plywood Platen Repair & Refurbishing
Purchasing Premium American-Made Plywood Platens
Venango Machine is a leading American manufacturer of platens for all industries and prioritizes using domestic materials throughout the production process. As a provider of standard, non-standard, custom platens, and affordable refurbishing or repair services, Venango is poised to remain an industry leader for decades to come. If you are interested in learning more about how our steam and thermal fluid heated plywood platens can immediately improve the efficiency, quality, and operating costs of your production cycle, please contact a member of our team through the link below. We look forward to working with you and providing a premium American-made plywood platen that offers superior performance, reliability, and longevity under the most challenging conditions.
