Perforated Rubber Screens and Mats
Precision Engineered for All Industries
Perforated Rubber Solutions at Graepels
At Graepels we have been perforating rubber since 1959. We punch EPDM, polyurethane and Vulkolan to your specification, in sheets up to 50mm thick, for quarrying, mining, recycling, waste management and food processing sites across the UK and Ireland.
Most jobs land on one of two products. EPDM rubber mats take heavy and abrasive feed, and polyurethane screens handle fine separation and sticky material. Where neither is quite right, we can source alternative grades and shore hardnesses against the application.
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Why Choose Graepels for Your Perforated Rubber?
We are an ISO certified manufacturer and we perforate everything ourselves, so you buy direct from the people who make it rather than through a distributor.
- Punched Up to 50mm Thick: A 40 tonne cutting force and a 110mm stroke let us punch heavy sheet cleanly rather than tearing it.
- Longer Service Life on Abrasive Duty: Rubber absorbs impact rather than transferring it, so heavy feed does less damage and changeovers come round less often.
- Reduced Noise Levels: Rubber screen cloth is markedly quieter than metal, which makes for a better working environment on site.
- No Pitting or Stress Corrosion: Performance holds up in wet conditions, including where seawater is present.
- Reduced Blinding and Pegging: Flexible media releases near size particles that would wedge in a rigid screen.
- Fits Almost Any Machine: We punch to suit almost all makes of quarrying, mining, waste and recycling plant.
- Short Lead Times: We punch rapidly from stock, or to your specification where the job is bespoke.
EPDM Rubber Mats
EPDM mats are our most widely specified screening media. They are most often fitted to the upper deck, or across a complete deck where the feed demands it.
EPDM Mats Built for Abrasive Duty
We punch our mats from natural SAR grade rubber with a shore hardness of 65, a grade used widely across mineral processing because it resists impact abrasion to DIN22102. Where the feed calls for something softer or firmer, we can supply alternative shore hardnesses.
Every mat is reinforced with a heat treated polyester cord, which resists deformation during operation so the mat holds its tension in service without adjustment. Media that slackens loses screening accuracy and wears unevenly, which brings the replacement interval forward.
Most EPDM work we see is aggregate, ore, blasted stone, and construction and demolition waste, where impact resistance matters more than fine aperture control.
Industrial Rubber Mats Punched to Suit Your Machine
Give us the deck dimensions, the fixing type and the aperture you need, and we will punch to match. We supply to suit almost all makes of machinery used in quarrying, mining, waste management and recycling.
Bolt holing and hooking are both handled in house, so panels arrive ready to fit rather than needing work on site. For plants running mixed media, we can supply matched sets so the apertures step correctly from deck to deck.
If a mat is wearing out faster than it should, send us the panel and the feed details. Uneven wear usually points at aperture or tension rather than at the rubber itself.
Polyurethane Rubber Screens
PU rubber screens, also known as flip flow screens or flip flow mats, are the lighter and finer of the two options.
Where PU Screens Work Best
We usually recommend PU screens where plugging is the problem. The flexing action of the screen releases near size particles rather than letting them wedge in the aperture, which keeps throughput up on material that would blind a firmer sheet.
PU screens also take smaller apertures than rubber mats and a wider range of hole shapes, so they are the better choice wherever fine separation is the point of the deck.
We perforate both polyurethane and Vulkolan, and punch to suit all makes of machinery.
Lighter to Handle and Cheaper to Run
The panels are noticeably lighter than rubber mats, which makes changeovers quicker and cuts both the weight and the cost of transport. Across the service life of the screen they also carry low operating and maintenance costs.
PU screens can be supplied flat or with edges, depending on how your deck is arranged, and we fabricate before despatch so they arrive ready to fit.
You may see this material sold as Spaleck, Bivtec or Binder. Those are trade names rather than material specifications, and we can match or replace them.
Rubber Screen Hooking and Edge Fixing
How a panel fixes to the deck matters as much as the aperture. We finish every mat and screen to your machine so it clamps and tensions correctly from the first shift.
Hooked Edges: We hook rubber mats in house, forming the edge and fitting the hook strip so the panel tensions properly across the deck.
Bolt Holing: Where the deck fixes with bolts rather than hooks, we punch the holes to your drawing so nothing needs drilling on site.
Flat or Edged PU Screens: PU screens are supplied flat or with edges, depending on how your machine is arranged.
Send us the machine make and the fixing type and the panel will arrive ready to fit.
Industries and Use Cases
Perforated rubber is used across screening, grading and sorting wherever material has to be separated by size and the media has to survive the feed.
- Quarrying: Sizing crushed stone and gravel on vibrating decks, and pulling oversize out before it reaches the crusher or conveyor.
- Mining: Classifying ores and minerals on trommel and vibrating screens, where abrasive feed would tear wire mesh within weeks.
- Aggregate Processing: Grading sand, gravel and crushed stone to size for construction, road building and landscaping, with consistent cut points.
- Recycling and Waste Management: Sorting screens for plastics, glass, metal and paper, and separating recyclables from construction and demolition waste.
- Food Processing: Grading grains, cereals, fruit and vegetables, including potato screening mats, in wash down conditions that corrode metal.
- Chemical and Pharmaceutical: Classifying powders, granules and bulk materials where a consistent particle size is the point of the process.
Get in Touch
Send us the machine make, the deck size, the aperture and a note on the material you are screening, and we will come back with a recommendation and a quotation. If you are not sure whether EPDM or polyurethane is the right choice, tell us what the feed is doing and we will advise.