Why us?

You should choose us because we make a strong, dependable, high quality ceramic armor plate.  We combine affordability with effectiveness with proven manufacturing methods.   Here's  how we do it:

Armor plates are generally manufactured in one of four different ways:

1. Hand layup

2. Hand layup and vacuum bag

3. Vacuum bag plus oven

4.  Autoclave  

The hand layup is the most popular method and any plate that you purchase from China will be manufactured by a worker spreading out chloroprene rubber by hand. The tile pieces are then set on top of a pressed backing plate and allowed to dry.  This is the most simple, cost-effective method and is seen below. This method works - but the strength of the bond between the ceramic and the PE pressed backer is not as strong as other methods. 

There are many reputable Asian companies that manufacture affordable and effective armor. Only a select few are transparent about the amount of ceramic present in their products - and the industry as a whole can do a better job about this.  One signficant disadvantage in purchasing Chinese-made armor is the lack of disclosure regarding the amount of rubber around the edge of the ceramic plates.

An example of the hand layup method is seen in the video below.

The hand layup and vacuum bag method works by placing the ceramic tile on an adhesive bed and vacuum bagging in order to achieve consistency across the adhesive layer.  The hand lay up and vacuum bag method is seen as superior to the hand layup alone.

We utilize the vacuum bag plus oven method which provides an effective way to combine ceramic with polythylene all while using a ceramic tile array (mosaic).  The mosaic tile array builds the ceramic strike face with a number of small tiles and this enhances multi-shot performance.  However, because of the smaller, individual tiles and custom edging, the mosaic strike faces are not well suited for autoclaving. 

Vacuum bagging plus the oven is a strong manufacturing technique. The heat allows the tile to be pressed down into the polythylene for a fantastic bond.  We use a proprietary adhesive with our armor that is developed specifically for our application and results in about 1800 pounds of clamping pressure as the plate is vacuumed and heated, then allowed to cool down under pressure back to room temperature.  Careful control of heat is important during this process.

Here is a video of part of our process:


 Autoclaving is also a very effective manufacturing method.  But, this process is best applied with monolithic, single-piece tiles and the resulting armor - while having a strong bond, is usually expensive. This method is is usually performed in conjunction with a contract that specifically requires this type of assembly. Researchers have tested the difference in effectiveness between the vacuum bagging and oven versus autoclaving method with mixed results.  Some studies have found that autoclaving offers no improvement in overall armor performance. A few have determined that autoclaving may improve fragmentation capture by the backing material by approximately 10 percent.  In general the performance resulting from the two methods are similar. 
 
What makes our Standard Ceramic Armor Plates "better" than our competition?  Sure, you can purchase a $99 armor plate on eBay - but how do we improve on what's out there?  Our Standard Hybrid Armor Plates resist .44 magnum across the whole plate... even on the edges, all while offering rifle protection over most of the plate.  This plate is a good choice when you expect to encounter handgun threats but want that added rifle protection over your heart all while wearing something that's light and affordable.
Two other important differences between our standard configurations and others:
1. We use high temperature resistant silicone edges (not EVA rubber) to offer heat resistance and to enhance our manufacturing process.  Using heat resistant edges means that we can heat and pressurize the entire plate at the same time resulting in a strong consistent product.
2. We use a powerful blend of aramid and carbon fiber on the strike face of all of our plates... including our standard ceramic models. 
As always, please let us know if you have any questions.  We want to make sure you understand the ins and outs of what we are doing.  We stand behind our products - so buy with confidence!