Meticulous manual formliner
fabrication for Austrian customer

In 2016, Reckli joined forces with System-Bau Eder in order to complete the headquarters of Silhouette International Schmied AG in Linz, Austria. In this project, Reckli was entrusted with supplying custom molds for producing precast elements with large circular window panes in various sizes. Yet the company also delivered a standard, smooth Plafond formliner for ensuring a uniform surface quality of all precast components. Just like the elements with circular window openings, the smooth formliners were supplied in various dimensions, i.e. 4.752 m × 3.264 m and 3.63 m × 3.264 m.

For the custom mold, a smooth Plafond formliner measuring 4.725 m × 3.25 m was supplied with a circular opening of 2.13 m in diameter inserted in a predefined position. This opening was filled with a round recess former in the same 2.13 m diameter, but with a curved tapering to a diameter of 1.9 m on its opposing side. The recess former’s height of 21.5 cm was identical to that of the element’s facing layer. Since the custom mold profile had a strongly curved shape, with no visible seam or joint permissible in the transition zone between profile and standard formliner, Reckli had to manually adjust the thickness of the Plafond formliner to that of the recess former at its Herne production site. The two parts were then delivered separately and joined again at the precast plant.

Just three weeks needed for fabricating model and recess former

Sven Kosjak, plant manager in the formliner division, remembers: “Making the associated model was relatively simple as it consisted of round ‘troughs’ with a curved profile. Our biggest effort, however, went into inserting the circular opening into the smooth Plafond formliners and aligning it with the recess former. To create the hole in the standard Plafond formliner, a round template was placed on the model, followed by direct casting because it was impossible to cleanly cut out the shape afterwards.”

Overall, Reckli needed just three weeks for fabricating the model and the recess former.