Skip to content

Composite Molding Presses

French designs and manufactures composite presses for a wide range of composite molding applications including critical component production for the aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, sporting industries and more. Regardless of your requirements, large or small, French can provide a customized press for molding or laminating your composite components.

Composite Molding Press Custom Capabilities

French composite presses come in upacting or downacting configurations and are typically designed with very low deflection. Many platen sizes and configurations are available with tonnages commonly ranging from 20 to 2,000 ton hydraulic presses.

Presses can be fitted with many process-improving features including, but not limited to, loading and unloading automation systems, vacuum chambers, specialized UNI-TEMP heated platens, tilting platens and advanced electrical control packages that give customers greater press control and press flexibility to optimize product quality and process performance.

Click to see additional examples of custom-built French composite presses or contact a French Sales Engineer for more information or for a custom hydraulic press sales quote.

300 Ton Composite Molding Press

300 ton composite molding hydraulic press

500 Ton Sideplate Hydraulic Press

500 ton sideplate hydraulic press

400 Ton Composite Molding Press

400 ton composite molding hydraulic press

500 Ton Composite Molding Press for the Defense Industry

500 ton composite molding press for the defense industry

Composite Molding Press For Resins, Composites & Thermoplastics

Regardless of your process requirements, large or small, we can provide a customized solution for molding or laminating your composite products. Our extensive French and TMP TECHNI-MOLD product lines and our advanced control packages give customers greater press control and press flexibility to optimize product quality and process performance.

Improve your product processes for resins, composites and thermoplastics with our composite molding press solutions. We want to learn more about your business and where you could be falling short. Let’s get started, learn more about our custom capabilities today.

Types of Composite Molding Processes

We offer a variety of high temperature molding press types including automatic hydraulic press systems for compression-molding of all types of composites and thermoplastics.

Composite Molding

  • Straight Compression Molding
  • Hydraulic Transfer Presses
  • Hydraulic Vacuum Press

Standard Composite Molding Machine Components:

Scope of Supply

Current press specifications cover a wide range of design parameters:

  • Tonnages 5 – 3,000 tons
  • Platen dimensions 5″ – 14 feet
  • Closing speeds 40 to 300 inches / minute
  • Platen heating Oil, Electric, Steam, Uni-Temp
  • Number of Daylights 1-20
  • Hydraulic pressures Up to 3,000 psi
  • Hydraulic preferences Rexroth, Bosch
  • Control Processors Allen Bradley
  • Operator Interfaces Allen Bradley, Maple

Press Frame

  • Slab-Side type Press – A Vacuum chamber can be readily incorporated into this frame design
  • Four-Post type presses – High-tensile rods with over-size diameters, which are identically machined with square shoulder to maintain crosshead parallelism
  • C-Frame and Window Frame types are available for special applications

Platens

  • Electrically-heated platens are uniquely designed for uniform heat distribution and temperature control. Our designs can be used for high-temperature molding press applications, up to 1200°F.
  • Oil-heated platens are also available. This method provides the most accurate and uniform temperature over a wide range of high temperature molding press applications.
  • Steam-heated platens are efficient for temperatures to 360°F (150PSI) our platens have individual steam traps for better uniformity over systems with a single trap.

Advanced Controls Systems

We offer two standard controls packages for the molding of composites. The BPS Control Package, although basic, provides programmable control of pressures, times, allowing for bump cycles, multiple cure settings, and platen temperature control. It includes a microprocessor and an LCD display to enter recipes and compare actual process values to pre-programmed settings.

The industry’s most advanced system used for these products as well as for most composites, laminates and circuit-board lamination is the TMP “Edge” Control System. This is a PLC-based system designed to improve product quality through better pressing accuracy, repeatability, versatile process control programming and monitoring of data for analysis. NEMA-type enclosure mounted to the side of the press.

Control of all press functions, recipe input, and process monitoring is readily attainable through the operator interface.

Press Ram & Main Cylinder

  • Our Ram-Cylinder designs are a heavy duty and rated to 3000PSI. The designs contain special guiding and sealing to provide accurate alignment, reduced wear.

Press Crosshead

  • Machined from thick solid steel plate to minimize deflection.

Moving Bolster Assembly

  • Our bolsters are machined steel, ground flat and parallel. Bolster guides are heavy-duty and are temperature-compensating in their configuration, allowing constant clearances to maintain parallelism.

Hydraulic System

Our Hydraulic System is a proven for its efficiency and long-term reliability. These hydraulics combined with our advanced controls provide press control, accuracy and flexibility unmatched in the industry. The system includes:

  • Slow decompression, to eliminate hydraulic shock and extend operating longevity
  • Ram pre-fill system with side cylinders for fast closing speeds
  • Proportional valving for controlling closing speeds and compression rates
  • Dual transducers for back-up and reliability of pressure control to maintain calibration hydraulic unit, consisting of a steel constructed reservoir, pump, motor
JHgc3u

Service & Support

The French Oil Mill Machinery Company provides solutions that Fit Your Exact Needs — Aftermarket Parts, Maintenance, Rebuilds, Retrofits

Request a Quote

Tailored Solutions for Your Manufacturing Needs: Achieve Optimal Process Results with Our Customized Equipment and Specialized Solutions.

Scroll To Top