FLUIDQUICKSTART

1. What's in the crate

Before anything else, lay everything out and check it off:

• FLUID press frame with 9×4.5-inch plate set installed
• Controller unit and power cable
• Plate power and thermocouple leads
• Handle for the hydraulic ram
• This documentation

Checkpoint: no visible shipping damage, plates seated flat against their mounts, and every connector present. If anything's missing or damaged, photograph it before you power anything and contact us — shipping claims are much easier on day one.

2. Setup

Bench

Set the press on a level, rigid bench that doesn't rock under side load — you'll be pulling a handle, and 20 tons of ram force reacts through the frame. Leave clear space in front for loading and collection, and keep anything meltable away from the plates.

Power and connections

Connect the plate leads to the controller, then plug the controller into a standard grounded outlet. Nothing else on the circuit should be a heavy draw.

First power-on

Switch the controller on. Both plate displays should light and settle to roughly room temperature within a minute.

Checkpoint: both zones reading near ambient. If a display stays dark or reads implausibly high or low, reseat that zone's connectors once, firmly, before anything else — a loose thermocouple is the usual cause.

3. Your first press

For the first run, use a modest amount of good material in a correctly sized bag — the Bag Sizing Guide matches bag dimensions to the 9×4.5 plates. You're learning the machine, not chasing yield.

Step 1 — Set temperature. Set both zones to your starting point from the Temperature Guide. Wait for both displays to settle at setpoint, then give the plates two more minutes — the thermocouple reads the plate core, and the working surface lags it slightly.

Step 2 — Load the bag. Fill the bag evenly, fold the opening closed, and center it in a parchment pouch on the lower plate. Off-center loads press unevenly and ask more of the seams.

Step 3 — Seat the plates. Pump the handle gently until the upper plate just kisses the bag. Let the material warm through for half a minute — a pre-heated pack flows earlier and more evenly.

Step 4 — Build pressure slowly. Pump in steady strokes, watching the output edge of the parchment. You're looking for the first bead of output — that's your signal that flow has started. From there, add pressure gradually rather than all at once; the FLUID's advantage is that you can feel the material through the handle.

Step 5 — Hold. When flow slows to a crawl, hold pressure for the dwell time your parameters call for. Don't chase the last drop with force — that's how seams let go.

Step 6 — Release and collect. Ease the pressure off, open the plates, and move the parchment to a cool surface. Peel the bag away once it's safe to handle.

Checkpoint: you should see a clean, contained press — output on the parchment, material spent inside an intact bag. Note your time, temps, and result; that log becomes your recipe.

4. If something's off

Most first-day issues are setup, not hardware: a connector not fully seated, an off-center load, pressure built too fast. Work the checkpoints above first. For anything beyond that — and for the full maintenance schedule — the support page has the details, and our team answers within one business day.

5. Cheatsheet

Warm-up	Setpoint reached, plus 2 minutes for the plate surface
Bag size	Matched to 9×4.5" plates — see the Bag Sizing Guide
Temperature	Start points by material — see the Temperature Guide
Pressure	Slow build to first bead, then gradual — feel the material
After each session	Wipe plates warm with a food-grade, non-abrasive cleaner
Log every press	Material, bag, temp, dwell, result — your recipes live here