How to Choose a PVC Flooring Machine for Your Product Specifications

Choosing a PVC flooring machine starts with the floor you want to sell. Its construction, dimensions, surface finish and installation system determine the equipment your factory needs. Required production volume then determines the capacity of that equipment.

The right PVC flooring machine should produce your specified flooring consistently, using your intended formulation, at the required saleable output. To select it, define the product, match each manufacturing stage to its requirements, and verify the proposed configuration through a production trial.

This guide explains how to turn a flooring specification into a practical machine selection brief.

1. Define the Flooring Construction and Manufacturing Route

“PVC flooring” covers several product structures. A machine suitable for one structure may require substantial changes to manufacture another.

Start with a cross-section drawing showing every layer, together with a physical sample where available.

Also identify the installation format. Dry-back and click-lock describe how flooring is installed; they do not fully define its material construction.

Ask for a process flow showing where each layer enters production and which operations are online or offline. If the factory will process purchased core boards instead of producing the core from raw materials, the equipment scope changes substantially.

2. Separate Core Thickness from Finished Flooring Thickness

A request for “5 mm flooring” leaves an important question unanswered: which layers does that measurement include?

Provide separate specifications for:

• Core or substrate thickness.

• Decorative film and wear layer thickness.

• Any balance or reinforcement layers.

• Attached backing thickness.

• Total finished thickness, with the measurement basis clearly stated.

An attached foam pad adds to finished thickness but does not pass through the core extruder. Using the total padded thickness to calculate core output would therefore give an incorrect capacity requirement.

Specify tolerances and the full thickness range

Include minimum and maximum thickness, permitted variation across the sheet, and the measurement method. Agree whether measurements apply immediately after production or after defined conditioning.

Then ask the machine manufacturer to confirm the operating range of the die, forming rolls, cooling section and downstream equipment.

A line demonstrated at one thickness has not automatically been proven across your entire product range. Include the most demanding thin and thick products in the trial plan.

3. Match Sheet Width to Your Finished Plank Sizes

Finished plank width and extrusion sheet width are different specifications.

A wide sheet may be divided into several planks. The cutting layout must allow for edge trimming, cutting losses and any material removed during click-profile machining.

Request a nesting or cutting layout for each main product size. This helps establish:

• Required usable sheet width.

• Number of planks produced across the sheet.

• Expected trim and cutting losses.

• Compatibility with decorative film and wear layer widths.

• Working widths of coating, cutting and handling equipment.

Compare usable production width across the complete line, rather than relying only on nominal die width.

For click flooring, specify the rough blank dimensions as well as the finished plank dimensions. For tiles or long planks, check cutting length, squareness, handling capacity and stacking arrangements.

4. Select the Extrusion System Around Your Actual Formula

PVC flooring extrusion performance depends on the material being processed. Screw diameter, motor power and a headline output figure are insufficient to confirm suitability.

Give the manufacturer a formulation brief covering the PVC resin grade, calcium carbonate characteristics, stabilizer package, processing aids, lubricants and any plasticizer used. State the planned recycled material content and its source.

Ask how the proposed system will handle:

• Consistent dosing and feeding of the intended compound.

• Mixing, fusion and melt consistency.

• Temperature control during normal running and interruptions.

• Material changes between product grades.

• Screw and barrel wear under the intended operating conditions.

For SPC production, conical and parallel twin-screw extruders should be evaluated against the same compound and product requirements. The useful comparison is demonstrated output, product quality, operating load and maintenance requirements for your application.

Our guide to parallel vs. conical twin-screw extruders for SPC flooring explores this equipment choice in more detail.

If recycled content will vary, define the approved range and include representative material in testing. A trial with one compound establishes performance for that compound and those trial conditions.

5. Match Lamination and Embossing to the Required Surface

The surface specification should describe the complete construction and appearance: decorative film, wear layer, texture, gloss, coating and any balance layer.

Lamination and layer handling

Ask how the line controls film tension, alignment, temperature and laminating pressure. Confirm the supported film widths, roll sizes and layer combinations.

Where a balance layer is part of the product design, include its application in the equipment specification. Kingshine’s LVT flooring production line includes balance-layer lamination equipment.

Agree on how layer adhesion, appearance and flatness will be checked after cooling and conditioning.

Traditional embossing or online EIR?

Traditional embossing creates a surface texture without necessarily aligning each feature with the printed design. Embossed in register, or EIR, aligns the texture with features in the decorative pattern.

If your specification requires registered wood grain or stone texture, confirm the registration system, compatible decorative film, matched embossing tooling and pattern change procedure. Request samples produced at the proposed operating speed.

Kingshine’s SPC flooring production line offers optional online EIR. The required surface effect should be specified before the final configuration is agreed.

6. Include the Finishing Equipment Your Product Requires

A PVC flooring production line must be evaluated through to the finished product you intend to ship.

Depending on that product, the project may require UV coating, cutting or punching, click profiling, bevel finishing, backing application, inspection and packaging.

For dry-back products, focus on finished dimensions, squareness, surface condition and the specified underside. For click flooring, provide the joint drawing and evaluate profile consistency, edge integrity, assembly and locking performance.

If attached underlay is required, specify its material, thickness, coverage, position and bonding method. Confirm that backing application and packaging can accommodate the full product range.

Ask for a capacity balance across all production stages. Offline finishing is possible, but it requires enough processing capacity, intermediate storage and handling to support the production schedule.

7. Convert Sales Targets into Required Machine Output

Flooring is commonly sold by square meter, while extrusion capacity is often quoted in kilograms per hour. Compare them using the mass of material actually passing through the extruder.

For a uniform core:

Core mass per square meter = core thickness in meters × core density in kg/m³

Then:

Required running output in kg/h = target accepted m²/day × core kg/m² ÷ (scheduled hours/day × uptime × usable-area yield)

Use uptime for production interruptions. Use yield for material or area losses, such as trimming and rejected boards. Keep the two factors separate so that losses are counted once.

Example: sizing an SPC core extrusion line

Assume the following illustrative production conditions:

Core mass per square meter:

0.004 × 2,000 = 8 kg/m²

Required running core output:

2,000 × 8 ÷ (20 × 0.85 × 0.95) ≈ 991 kg/h

Under these assumptions, the process needs approximately 991 kg/h of gross core output while running. Separately applied films and backing are excluded from this core calculation.

These figures illustrate a sizing method; they are not a machine performance claim. Replace the assumptions with your product density, working schedule and verified production data.

Also confirm that finishing equipment can process the incoming production rate. If a quoted capacity already represents accepted finished output after losses, do not deduct those losses again.

8. Check Factory Utilities and Product Changeovers

The proposed line must work within your factory’s available utilities and space.

Request a layout and utility schedule covering electrical supply, cooling water, compressed air, extraction requirements, material storage and access for maintenance. Distinguish installed electrical power from expected operating demand.

Confirm the cooling conditions required at the proposed output. Include space for conditioning, intermediate stock and movement between offline processes.

Plan for the products you will actually run

A factory making frequent small orders has different priorities from one running a single specification continuously.

Ask how long it takes to change thickness, width, decorative film, embossing pattern and formulation. Include startup scrap and cleaning in the assessment.

Recipe storage, process logging and adjustable controls can support repeatability. Select automation according to the operating tasks it will perform, and confirm which functions are included in the quotation.

For future products, identify the tooling, controls, utilities and space that expansion would require. A general statement that a machine is “upgradeable” does not define the scope or cost of the modification.

9. Agree on a Product-Based Acceptance Trial

A successful trial should demonstrate that the proposed equipment can manufacture your specified flooring under agreed conditions.

Before ordering, document the trial formulation, layer materials, product sizes, operating duration, sampling method and acceptance criteria.

Collect samples across the working width and at different times during a stable run. Include the main commercial product and any demanding specification that materially changes the process.

Agree on where each test will be performed. Some checks can be completed during the factory trial; other finished-flooring tests require separate conditioning or laboratory work.

Record the results and any outstanding actions before final acceptance.

10. Prepare a Clear Specification Sheet for Your Inquiry

Use the following checklist when requesting a PVC flooring machine proposal. Attach product drawings, layer specifications and samples where available.

Request a proposal that connects each specification to the proposed equipment, tooling and demonstrated operating range. Where performance has not yet been verified, identify the trial needed to confirm it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one PVC flooring machine produce both SPC and LVT?

It depends on the exact constructions and the equipment design. Shared use of PVC does not establish compatibility. Ask for confirmation of the supported compounds, thickness range, layer structures and changeover requirements, followed by trials of both products.

What is the most important specification when choosing a PVC floor machine?

Start with product construction. It establishes the manufacturing route. Thickness, width, surface requirements and accepted output then determine the configuration and capacity within that route.

Should I select a larger extruder for future expansion?

Evaluate present demand and a defined expansion plan together. Confirm stable operation at your initial production rate and identify future downstream capacity requirements. A larger extruder alone does not increase the output of every stage in the factory.

Does a thicker wear layer require a larger extruder?

Not automatically. If the wear layer is supplied as a separate film, it does not increase the material passing through the core extruder. It may still change lamination, embossing and cooling requirements, so the complete structure should be checked.

Can I select equipment before finalizing the formula?

You can develop a preliminary configuration around an agreed formulation range. Final performance commitments should be tied to defined materials and verified conditions, because changes in the compound can affect processing and finished-product quality.

How can I compare different machine quotations fairly?

Use the same product drawing, formulation, operating schedule and acceptance criteria. Compare the complete equipment scope, demonstrated saleable output, utility requirements, tooling, changeover work and service arrangements.

Discuss Your Flooring Specifications with Kingshine

Prepare your layer structure, finished dimensions, surface sample and daily production target before choosing a machine model. These details provide the basis for selecting the extrusion system, forming and lamination equipment, and finishing processes.

Contact Kingshine with your product specifications to discuss a PVC flooring production line configuration. Request a proposal that identifies the equipment scope, supported product range and verification plan for your project.