The North Star Tile Press
is comprised of 3 aluminum floor plates, each reinforced with ½"
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.
The center plate is driven up and down by turning North
Star's trademark WagonWheel handle which moves a massive solid steel
6-pitch rack-and-pinion gear train. Our gear train configuration allows
the operator to easily apply up to 5,000 pounds of pressure on the clay
being pressed without great physical exertion.
A 3-way valve controls the air flow from an air compressor
alternately to the lower and upper die halves to release the newly formed
part. It is located conveniently on the top floor plate of the Tile Press,
and safely away from any moving parts.
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. Our minimum recommendation for an air
compressor is a unit that will generate at least 60 psi with a minimum 2
gallon storage tank. Our optimum recommendation for an air compressor is a
unit that will generate at least 120 psi with a minimum 10 gallon storage
tank. As a rule of thumb, the larger the storage tank is on the air
compressor unit, the less frequently the compressor will need to run to
maintain the pressure needed to operate the Tile Press during the repeated
consecutive pressings found in production-oriented work.