Vacuum bagging vs. Pressing

I had the opportunity to tour another ski and board facility that used vacuum bags instead of a press.  It got me thinking about the feasibility of that technology because they are able to make boards or skis and they even use the heavy silicone bags to sublimate their top sheets.

Compare that to a ski press and you have the ability to do skis or snowboards but not without a long layover to switch the press.  However, my press idea might mitigate that layover but that's for another post.

This facility had everything in-house.  They had two CNC tables.  One was a 3D table used for cores or tail blocks or whatever you might want to mill out in 3D and the other was a 2D cutter that used a super sharp knife and was strictly for base material though I bet you could cut stickers too...

They also used a base grinding machine to remove extra resin and material from the raw ski/board.  We use a more hands on method and one could argue that we achieve a better quality ski in the end.

Either way, having all processes in one facility looked like a nice way to do things.  I think I would take a ton of cash to get there though.  So, for now, I'll focus on just making one snowboard and build from there...

Thanks for tuning in!

-D2