FIPRO® TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Tools and machines | Processing | Finishing

Tools

Tools and Machines

FIPRO® panels can be safely processed with conventional tools and machines and without any issues regarding work hygiene or environmental impact (drilling, milling, sawing, grinding, etc.).
• For cutting panels, wood cutting machines with cutters that have typical carbide teeth.
• Edge work for large quantities can be done with a double end profiler. The machining equipment is similar to those used for chip boards. The feed rate should be slightly reduced.

Exhaust

The Vermiculite dust produced during the drilling should be exhausted. The dust is not flammable, and for larger volumes, a separate vacuum is recommended; otherwise in heating systems large amounts of ashes would be produced.

Press Fixtures

In order to avoid damage to the edges of the panels from conveyor belts, rolls or pressing devices during machining, fully automated work flows shall be divi- ded into smaller processing steps, as is familiar from the production of chipboard furniture.

Tools and machines

Processing

Butt Joint

Under the effects of fire, as well as under the normal climatic conditions, FIPRO® panels have a extraordinary resistance to dimensional change. This allows for panels to be butt jointed in many cases. This type of work requires certified and inspected construction components.

Butt Joint

Corner Joints

FIPRO® panels can be assembled with screws, nails or pneumatic staples. Depending upon the construction requirements, additional gluing may be necessary.

Screws:
Coarse thread screws with partial threading are required (e.g. Spax type screws). Optimal joints will be made if the screw locations are pre-drilled to the core size of the screw, and a bit of fireproof adhesive is applied in the drilled hole just prior to inserting the screw.

Stapling:
Pneumatic staples, in conjunction with gluing with fireproof adhesive, also gives a secure, permanent construction joint. Staplers must have pressure limiters.
To spackle over screw heads, nail holes, and staple marks (as well as edges of damaged areas), we recommend a spackle material made from fireproof adhesive (silicate) and pounded vermiculite.

Brass spreading dowels:
For screwed connections with high strength requirements, furniture joints, assembly of moving hardware components, joints that will be disassembled, etc., we recommend the use of brass spreading dowels.

Gluing:
Our special fireproof adhesive is, for one thing, an optimal assembly aid for FIPRO® panels; for another, the panel joint then has a tight, fireproof connection. Fireproof adhesive can be used at temperatures over +5 °C. The parts to be joined are screwed, clamped, or pressed together after the adhesive is applied sparingly. The adhesive should be applied directly on the joint site from the tube.

Tongue and Groove Joints:
For „floating“ panel joints, irregular foundations, and increased requirements for surface flatness, it is recommended that tongue and groove joints be used between panels. This makes installation easier.
Tongues must be made of non-flammable materials.
Groove walls must be no thinner than 8 mm for uncoated panels.

Corner Joint

Screws

Brass spreading dowels

Gluing

Tongue and Groove Joints

Finishing

Spackling:
Panel joints on surfaces that will later be plastered or painted must be spackled. Typical joint compounds and spackles are suitable.
Before spackling the surfaces, the vermiculite panels must be chamfered. Spackling can be done only if the panels will not be subject to large changes in temperatures that will cause them to change size. In order to guarantee a crack-free joint, the joints must be reinforced with fiberglass cloth.

Paints and Finishes:
Practically any common paint or finish can be applied to FIPRO® panels.

Painting Untreated Panels:
Clean surfaces with true color can be achieved with latex, synthetic resin, or acrylic paint by applying a spackle cover, a base coat, and a finish coat.

Painting Laminates:
For exposed edges or surfaces with high requirements for hardness, durability, and smoothness (high-gloss paints), it is recommended that untreated panels be covered with a sanded coating material (HPL). Base coats and 2-component DD paints are applied to this. Surfaces with this construction meet the highest standards of design and quality.

Plastering:
FIPRO® panels, thanks to their dimensional stability, are especially well suited for plasterwork. In preparation, the untreated panel should have a base coat of latex with siliceous sand applied.

Wallpapering:
FIPRO® panels can be decorated with all sorts of wallpaper grades with no problems. The use of a suitable primer as a base coat is required.

Tiles:
FIPRO® fireproof panels can be covered with tile, ceramic, or natural stone surfaces. When the panels are laid out, dry construction guidelines should be followed. All panel joints must be reinforced with joint reinforcement tape, and then spackled as a whole.