Follow us at the Burton Headquarters in Burlington Vermont as we discover how the new Empire x Burton Process board is made from A to Z.
*All captions by Todd Kohlman, Burton Archivist.*
We are thrilled to kick off Empire’s 25th anniversary year by joining forces with the most legendary snowboarding brand out there: Burton. As a tribute to this remarkable milestone, we have collaborated with the iconic brand and dug into their archives to introduce the exclusive and collaborative Empire Process board.
Meticulously designed, this limited-edition snowboard combines Burton's renowned craftsmanship with Empire's unique aesthetic and vibes from the 87 Cruizer and 95 Cruzin, resulting in a truly extraordinary snowboard model. With cutting-edge technology and unparalleled performance, this board embodies the spirit of both brands, celebrating 25 years in business and a deep passion for snowboarding.
We were lucky to be invited to the Burton Headquarters in Burlington Vermont so we could experience the making of the actual board, step by step. From the mold to the core all the way to the top sheet graphic, Burton is not messing around when it comes to making snowboards.
Follow us as we visit Burton’s Headquarters, aka the Craig Kelly RnD facility, and learn exactly how the new Empire Process board is made.
MOLD AND CORE CONSTRUCTION
All snowboard builds start with the mold selection. That’s where all the snowboard’s layers are going to sit during the building process. There are 5 different mold currently used at Burton, ours being the Burton Process mold, one of the best freestyle boards ever.
Once the mold has been selected, the core is cut from a block of wood in Burton’s unique core-cutting machine, using different techniques for cutting the wood grain. The snowboard's core is the heart of the board and it is responsible for providing your shred stick with strength, flexibility, and responsiveness. Fun fact, one block of wood can produce up to 10 cores. In this step, the core is carefully shaped and assembled utilizing various wood grains and cutting techniques, giving the board specific particularities.
"We cut the wood’s core in the opposite direction of the grain, allowing for better heel-toe/toe-heel response."
Once the core has been cut, it’s time to clean the debris and sand it down to obtain the desired thickness and three-dimensional shape.
The thiner the core, the more flexing feel you have, the thicker you leave it the stiffer it will feel under your feet"
Now that we got our core and mold in place, it’s time to assemble ithe other snowboard components, like a sandwich.
PREPARE THE BOARD’S BOTTOM SHEET AND EDGE
Once the mold is ready and the core has been cut into the desired shape, it’s time to start filling the mold with the first layer of the board: the bottom sheet, or base layer. The base material, usually a high-density polyethylene (HDPE), is applied to the bottom of the snowboard mold to provides a smooth glide as well as protecting the core from water infiltration.
Once the base sheet has been placed at the bottom of the mold, edges are built. Prior to getting applied, the edges are shaped using a special machine that Burton created exclusively to bend edges so they fit molds perfectly.
"We can safely say we don't only make snowboards, but we make machinery here as well."
LAYER, LAMINATE AND PRESS
The mold has been selected, the core is ready and the base layer and edges and are as well! Now it’s time to pile all the parts of the board on top of each other like a sandwich, glue together and apply the edge around the board. For this process, Burton uses a special putty called “Gummy” that holds the metal edge with the fiberglass of the board tightly to ensure no delaminations.
As for layering, a fiberglass layer is added on top of the base sheet, then some carbon fiber strings are added by hand, the core is then placed on top. That's when the Channel for bindings is applied. Then, they apply more carbon fiber and another sheet of fiberglass on top of it. The lamination is made by gluing all those pieces together by hand with resin.
Last but not least, the top layer, where a board take its personality through Burton’s amazing graphics and different printing techniques later in the process.
Once the board layered and laminated, it is then placed into a press, which applies heat and pressure, bonding the layers together and giving the board its special properties. You can think of Burton’s press like a Panini machine, heating and binding the different components together as well as giving it its bend setting. The press process takes about 15 minutes, then the board is almost ready to use.
"You can easily adjust the pegs underneath the press machine to give the board its bend, Rocker or Camber."
SIDEWALL CONSTRUCTION
Once all the pieces of the board have been glued together, it’s time to enhance the board's flex pattern and durability by adding the sidewalls along the its edges.
These sidewalls are usually made of materials like ABS or urethane and are meticulously bonded to the core. As well as enhancing the board’s flex, the sidewalls also prevent delamination and water from penetrating the base of the snowboard.
FINISHING TOUCHES
After the pressing process and sidewall addition, excess materials are trimmed by hand using a bench saw, giving the board its final shape. Once the excess material has been cut, the board is finely tuned using different machines at the cutting edge of technology. The metal edges, precisely shaped at the beginning of the process are tuned as well.
Graphics are then applied to the base layer and top sheet using various techniques. Please note the the Empire x Burton Cruiser board graphic is screen printed.
"We're fortunate to have this facility in terms of graphics. We got heat transfer machines and heat presses for bases, sublimation machines, laser etchers, foil stamper and a lot more."
The board then goes into a high pressure hydraulic machine to wash its base. Once the board is assembled, tuned, sanded, washed and polished, it goes through a special Bending Machine that breaks in the board and prevents it from cracking later on. At that point, the board is ready to be tested in the field.
QUALITY TESTING
Every snowboard goes through rigorous testing procedures to ensure its performance and durability. This includes flex testing, impact testing, and riding simulations to replicate real-world conditions. Only boards that pass these tests are deemed ready for the market.
