PERFORMANCE SHEET GRADES BY APPLICATION
Along with skyrocketing growth in the kiosk industry have come radical changes in the way kiosks are engineered and fabricated. Most notable is the move away from structural wood or steel cabinetry, to internal steel frames with fastening points for damage-resistant, field-replaceable exterior panels.
These panels can be thermoformed of durable Boltaron sheet and mechanically fastened to the internal steel frame, or membrane pressed (3-D laminated) with Boltaron sheet onto routed wood core substrates, which are mechanically fastened to the frame.
Thermoforming draws heated Boltaron sheet onto moulds using vacuum from below and (typically) pressure from above the sheet, creating a self-supporting 3-D part that, following secondary operations, can be fastened to the kiosk structure to house displays, lighting, keypads, etc. The extreme impact resistance of Boltaron sheet protects the structure and it’s internal components from the abuse typical of kiosk applications, while facilitating current 3-D design forms and improving visual appeal, owing to the unlimited solid colours, scratch-resistant metallics and numerous textures available.
A rapidly growing method of creating field-replaceable kiosk panels is by membrane pressing (also called 3-D laminating) in which MDF substrates are routed into three-dimensional shapes, and then membrane pressed (vacuum laminated) using damage resistant Boltaron sheet. The sheet encapsulates all top and side surfaces routed into the substrate, including compound curves, detailed profiles and deep recesses — even openings routed completely through the substrate for wiring and rear-mounted displays and keypads — with seamless, durable Boltaron sheet. The component is then trimmed of excess at its bottom edge and fastened to the kiosk’s internal frame, allowing rapid, inexpensive field replacement in the event of extreme damage.
No other thermoplastic sheet surpasses Boltaron PVC/Acrylic alloy for membrane pressing and thermoforming of kiosk panels for practical and aesthetic reasons:
| FEATURES | BENEFITS |
| Wide range of Boltaron alloys with UL Std 94 V-0, UL Std 94 5V, ASTM E-84 and ASTM E-62 fire ratings. | Satisfies a wide range of performance and cost requirements while meeting or exceeding fire standards if required. |
| Extruded grades in gauges down to 0.18 in. (0.46 mm) | Extruded gauges down to 0.18 in. (0.46 mm) satisfy a wide range of forming and fabrication requirements, while offering greater economy than competitive sheets offered in 0.022 in (0.56 mm) minimum thicknesses.In addition, the availability of matching heavy gauges up to 3.0 in. (76.2 mm) allow machining of thick parts identical in color, texture and properties to membrane pressable gauges of the same Boltaron grade. |
| Metallics with integral colour, providing unmatched brilliance and scratch resistance | Unlike competitive metallics that are reverse-printed with metallic ink on clear cap film laminated to dissimilar substrate material, Boltaron metallics are comprised of a cap film with integral metallic coloration, permanently fused to a matching “9815-grade” substrate of a complementary solid color, preventing de-lamination and offering unsurpassed scratch resistance. Since the 9815M monolithic cap film is a “metallized” version of Boltaron’s 9815 solid color substrate, metallic color selection is unlimited. |
| Unlimited colours (including solids, translucents and metallics) with low minimums | Unlimited custom colours with low minimum order quantities, no premiums and fast turnaround eliminates compromises associated with limited selections of standard colours, increasing customer satisfaction. |
| 16 Standard surface textures, and custom textures with low minimums | An exceptionally large number of standard textures, and virtually unheard of custom texture availability with low minimum order quantities, enable thermoformers and fabricators to satisfy the requirements of the most demanding specifiers, and in many cases to upgrade the part specification. |
| Impact resistance to 20 ft-lbs/in (1059 J/m) | Compare the impact resistance of Boltaron sheet with that of any competitive sheet and you may specify Boltaron on the basis of impact alone. With impact ratings to 20 ft-lbs/in (1059 J/m), Boltaron enables kiosks to withstand the abuse associated with high traffic environments while maintaining a like-new appearance. |
| Readily thermoformed and membrane pressed (3-D laminated) | Among the greatest benefits of Boltaron sheet to kiosk manufacturers is its ability to conform to 3-D shapes created by thermoforming or membrane pressing — while maintaining uniform wall thickness. |
| Extreme chemical resistance | Boltaron’s alloys are among the most chemical resistant of all plastics, allowing grime and graffiti to be removed repeatedly from kiosks using concentrated chemicals, with no adverse effects. |