Tag Archives: Arclin

An EPIC™ Evolution

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Great products just got even better

“Continuous improvement” sounds like a business-school buzzword, but at Arclin, it’s just what we do. We’re always interested in—and excited about— finding ways to make everything we produce even better.

Now, that focus on continuous improvement has led to an evolution in Arclin’s EPIC™ suite of concrete forming overlays.

“We’ve re-engineered our EPIC™ overlays so they offer better performance at every stage, from the panel manufacturing to construction in the field,” says Scot Johnson, Business Director Overlays.

The EPIC™ online casinos suite of conform overlays now features some significant advances:

  • MD 3000 resin, which more uniformly saturates the overlay base sheet to form a stronger bond to the panel and stand up to harsh concrete mixes
  • New paper, combining wood fibers in new ways to give the EPIC™ overlays the strength and alkalinity resistance needed
  • New release coating on EPIC™ Enhanced Flow MDO 4369/4379, to ensure that the overlay releases smoothly from pressing equipment when the panels are being made

Arclin’s new resin blends well with ‘hydrophobes,’ compounds that make the overlay more moisture resistant. That gives the end-user even more pours per panel and a better finish with the new EPIC™ MDO 3333 and the Enhanced Flow 4369 and 4379 overlays.

The EPIC™ evolution is a prime example of Arclin’s constant search to find new applications for chemistry that meet real-world conditions and market demands.

Product Concrete FinishCommon ApplicationsDescription / AttributesPours per Panel
EPIC™ Medium Density Overlay 3333 (MDO)MatteFor concrete that will be coated, painted and exposed Minor grain and no wood characteristic transfer with hardwood face substrate

Moderate grain and wood characteristic transfer with fir face substrate.
10 – 15
EPIC™ Enhanced Flow Medium Density Overlay 4369 (Natural Kraft) and 4379 (Green) (MDO)Smooth, MatteFor concrete that will be coated, painted and exposed Enhanced alkalinity resistance

Minor grain and no wood characteristic transfer with hardwood face substrate

Moderate grain and wood characteristic transfer with fir face substrate
10 – 20
EPIC™ Coated Concrete Form Overlay 4098 (MDO)GlossFor architectural finish
on exposed concrete
Phenolic film applied to fir-face softwood panel for no wood characteristic transfer15 – 25
EPIC™ Natural Kraft 2252/2253 (HDO)Smooth, Low- & Semi-glossPhenolic film applied to fir-face softwood panel for no wood characteristic transfer

Minor grain and wood characteristic transfer with fir substrate

FSC®-certified, unbleached Kraft paper overlays may contribute to additional LEED credits

Minor grain and wood characteristic transfer with fir substrate

Minor grain and no wood characteristic transfer with hardwood substrate
15 – 25
EPIC™ High Alkaline Overlay 2600 (HAO)Semi gloss/high gloss(based on pressing surface condition)For “aggressive” high alkaline concrete mix designsMinor grain and no wood characteristic transfer with hardwood face substrate

Minor grain and wood characteristic transfer with fir face substrate
15 – 35

Concrete Forming 101

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We’ll dig deeper, certainly, but for you, your customers and those not yet acclimated to the what’s and why’s of concrete forming (conform), here’s a primer:

What is conform?  Concrete forming panels or conform are paper overlaid substrate panels (typically plywood) used for concrete forming.

What’s the upside to using conform?  Conform is host to a variety of benefits over raw BBOES Plyform panels, namely it:

  • enables significant panel re-use, as panels are easily removed from dried concrete surfaces and the overlay keeps water from seeping into and undermining substrates.  This significantly reduces material and labor costs, and eliminates a lot of unnecessary jobsite waste
  • ensures a consistent, quality surface (a variety of surface options are available)
  • boasts serious environmental benefits, as it enables the use of sustainably harvested trees, is available with FSC®-certified papers and can contribute to LEED credits for material re-use and waste reduction

How is it made?  Resin saturated papers are applied to substrates during manufacturing to create an indelible bond and enhance panel durability.  The amount and chemistry of the resin is determined based on end-use application.  Arclin, for example, creates a variety of overlays for use with virtually any type of concrete construction, concrete mix and jobsite factors.

What do I need to know about selecting the right conform for a job?  Here’s a quick view of the types and applications of conform panels from Arclin (our competitors’ overlays may differ somewhat; we’re happy to answer any of your questions about the right panel type for your job.

We’ll dive into more details with subsequent issues of Conform Inform and blog posts.  Let us know what you want to know — or what you think would be helpful to your downstream customers.