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Gruber Metamold
Molds in Action
Advanced Plastics is extremely proud of our relationship with Gruber Systems of Valencia, California, the premier company for the manufacture, design and marketing of cast polymer technology in the world. Gruber Systems is at the forefront of mold design and technolgy, and constantly updates their mold designs to keep up with changes in the bathroom industry.
Gruber Systems is widely recognized as the industry leader in the design and manufacture of fiberglass and composite molds for the production of cast polyester.
Advanced Plastics, Gruber's first and largest distributor, has been maintaining a large stock of Grubermolds since 1982.
Because of the limitless combinations of molds that are available, we stock a selection of known favorites and can special order any mold Gruber produces. They also can make custom molds to your specifications if requested.
Not only does Gruber Systems manufacture molds; they also produce a wide variety of equipment used in the manufacturing process.
"Molds represent a major portion of our product sales. We also know that shop molds are the backbone of your operation: and that no amount of manufacturing ingenuity can take the place of a quality hand-crafted mold. The integrity of our products is the result of careful procedures and strict controls. All incoming supplies are tested to ensure that only quality raw materials are used. Quality control inspections are made four times during the production process, with a final inspection made just prior to shipping.
A wide variety of standard production molds are available to all cultured marble and solid surface manufacturers through our catalog. We have over 800 standard masters for bathtubs, showers, vanity tops, tabletops, wall trims, kitchen counters, decorative panels, and bathroom accessories. We pride ourselves on continuously improving ot products. In addition to these in-house projects, our designers can work directly as your consultants. You can generate new designs in two ways: by requestion a custom mold for your own exclusive product, or by requiring modifications of our standard catalog molds.
Over the years our mold appearance may look much the same, but the molds have changed substantially, reflecting the newest materials and construction techniques."
There are literally thousands of designs and several different composition options to choose from: METAMolds, VE Molds, or "Red" molds.
METAMolds - The New Standard in Mold Technology
Gruber's best standard in mold composition is the METAMold. They are more reliable, last longer, and offer significantly better peak exotherm protection than any other mold on the market today. Advanced Plastics highly recommends the METAMold configuration, particularly in solid surface or heavy use situations, due to the improved reliability characteristics inherent in the METAMold chemistry. We think that extra protection is important to our customers, when molds are their number-one capital investment.
METAMolds are the toughest, most durable molds ever produced! A drawback with standard polyester molds has always been the inherent limitiation of polyester tooling technology. Until recently, mold technology had no fix for these problems. However, with METAMold technology, a new standard of mold durability and excellence became available to manufacturers.
What is METAMold Technology?
Metamold technology starts with the gelcoat, where the "axe meets the
stone". The molds feature a high temperature, vinyl-ester based metallic-compound
gelcoat which offers: High temperature resistance - up to 185° degrees, a 40% improvement
over conventional polyester molds! Makes molds less porous thus allowing easier release
Lower surface tension greatly reducing chance of mold cracking/crazing. Increased surface
strength and chemical resistance High factor of mold gloss retention Compatible with
multi-release systems Pre-conditioned for faster prep-time.
But the improvements don't stop at the gelcoat. METAMolds use the same composite material substructure and proprietary high tech resin system used in the aerospace industry for added strength and durability. Additional features include a heavy-duty backsplash door and hinge providing uniform backsplash thickness and improved durablity; a beveled edge on the backsplash door serving as a "true" guide when using wedges to separate the male/female molds; and hardwood runners on the mold box to further strengthen the mold.
METAMolds and Solid Surface
The technology of METAMolds becomes especially important when producing non-gel coated solid surface and with light-weight fillers. The matrixes produced with these resins/fillers produce much higher internal temperatures when curing. METAMold's higher temperature-resistance is added protection against mold cracking, crazing and sticking.
Gruber Systems offers a complete line of molds,
mold care products, equipment and whirlpool systems through their chain of authorized
distributors.
If you'd like, visit Gruber Systems homepage
at:
http://www.gruber-systems.com
Mold drawings in Adobe Acrobat™
Offered as a less-expensive alternative to META molds, Gruber offers the VE (for Vinyl Ester) option. Offered as a replacement to the traditional "Red" molds, the VE line offers distinct reliability advantages and improved performance over normal "red" molds, at the same lower price. Advanced Plastics maintains a large stock of molds in the VE configuration. If you have a job which requries a "one-off" or will not be used in heavy production, the VE mold could be what your looking for.
Vinyl Ester gelcoat surfaces offer several advantages over the polyester tooing gelcoat used on the traditional "red" molds, including:
- greater surface flexibility
- better craze resistance
- increased chemical resistance
- higher heat distortion temperature
- easier demolding
Gruber feels so strongly about VE Molds, they offer them as an upgrade from the Red mold for NO EXTRA CHARGE.
Regularly Known as "Red" molds because of their distinctive red gel-coated surface, have been the staple of Gruber's mold composition since their inception. Most manufacturers are familiar with the literally thousands of designs and molds in the market. However, Gruber is rapidly phasing out "red" molds in favor of METAMolds and VE Molds due to their superior performance characteristics. Pre-Conditioned Before the mold leaves the factory, a special coating is applied to assist in protecting the mold from sticking during the break-in period. NOTE: Pre-conditioned DOES NOT mean ready for production. When breaking in a new mold, follow the manufacturers instructions carefully!
in Adobe Acrobat™ Format
Bathtubs
Kitchen Countertops
Kitchen Sinks
Solid Surface (SSV) Molds
Vanity Bowls
Wall-Mount Bowls
Undermount Bowls
Pedestal Sinks
Drop-In Bowls
No-Bowl Vanity Countertops
Showerpans
As a service to our customers, Advanced Plastics has taken the Gruber mold catalog, and scanned the images for this website. You will need the Adobe Acrobat™ Reader software installed on your computer to view these files. To get the free reader software, click on the "Get Reader" icon at top of this page. After installing the software, return here and click on the links at the left. The reader software will run inside of this frame, and let you view and print the mold drawings. It should take no more than one minute to load the first page of each file.
When Acrobat opens, make sure you click the 
button
in the Acrobat Toolbar to view the index list which hotlinks to the page you want....