Fume Cupboard (Fume Hood) Bases
A base to suit any fume cupboard: from the standard moulded range, fabricated to size from 15 mm sheet, or moulded to your own design with the tooling made here.
Epoxy resin is an excellent material for fume cupboard (fume hood) bases. Outstanding chemical resistance, ease of decontamination and mechanical strength enable it to withstand the harsh environments encountered in fume cupboards.
Bases can be supplied from our range of moulded sizes, cut down and re-edged where needed, then machined on our 5-axis machining centre to take sinks, drip cups and troughs from the Simmons range. Where no moulded size suits, bases are fabricated to any size or configuration.
Built for the harshest bench in the lab.
Fume cupboards take the most aggressive chemistry, heat and spillage in the laboratory. Solid epoxy resin is made for exactly that.
Resists aggressive reagents
Conforms to SEFA 3-2020, tested in 2026: 40 of the 49 reagents leave no effect or only a slight change in colour or gloss. Because the material is solid, that resistance runs through its full thickness, not a coating that can wear through. See all 49 results →
Mechanically strong
Dense and rigid, with 149 N/mm² compressive strength to take the knocks, loads and clamped equipment of daily fume-cupboard use, and no backing material required.
Contains spills
The dished base holds spills rather than letting them spread, and sinks, drip cups and troughs can be machined in. The surface wipes down clean and is rated excellent for ease of decontamination to BS 4247.
One-piece moulded bases.
Standard one-piece moulded bases are available in a range of common sizes. They can be cut down, and if necessary re-edged, to the size required. We also have moulds for many other sizes of base; ask about any size you need.
| Ref. | Overall size | Dish size |
|---|---|---|
| B900 | 900 x 775 mm | 854 x 615 mm |
| B1200 | 1200 x 775 mm | 1154 x 615 mm |
| B1500 | 1500 x 775 mm | 1454 x 615 mm |
| B1700 | 1700 x 775 mm | 1654 x 615 mm |
| B998 * | 698 to 998 x 750 mm | 668 to 968 x 615 mm |
| B1298 * | 999 to 1298 x 750 mm | 969 to 1268 x 615 mm |
| B1698 * | 1299 to 1698 x 750 mm | 1269 to 1668 x 615 mm |
| B1846 1 | Up to 1846 x up to 1100 mm | 1758 x up to 1100 mm |
- * Partially fabricated to cover every size up to 1698 mm: cut to the size required and re-edged on one side.
- 1 Adaptable: supplied up to a maximum of 1846 x 1100 mm, with the front-to-back dimension as required. Ask for details.
Sizes from the March 2026 leaflet. The 2019 brochure listed the intermediate sizes as B945, B1245, B1545 and B1745 with widths cut from 800 mm (670 to 780 mm for B1745); the current references are shown here.
Any size up to 3000 mm.
For sizes or configurations that cannot be produced from the standard range, we fabricate bases from 15 mm sheet and any of the Simmons range of edgings. A base can be made to almost any size, up to 3000 mm long or up to 1250 mm wide from the two sheet sizes, with any width or configuration of edging.
Wide edging to both sides gives a level shelf through which services can be mounted. Edging can be shaped to fit around sinks or drip cups, and level-fitting lids can be provided to cover any cut-outs in the base.
Fume cupboard liners in 6 mm sheet.
In hostile fume cupboard environments the walls, roof and baffles may come under chemical attack, especially where chemicals at high temperatures give off vapour. Simmons can provide lining panels made from solid 6 mm thick epoxy resin sheet.
Linings are supplied as shaped flat panels with cut-outs and fixing mounts, or as an assembled chamber built around a standard base with coved or 45 degree corners.
Designed, tooled and cast on one site.
For large projects, or to suit a customer's own fume cupboard design, Simmons offers a complete in-house service to develop bespoke bases in partnership with the customer.
The new base is designed in solids-based CAD/CAM software, working from the customer's cupboard.
The engineering team develops the tooling, which is made on site in the Coventry factory.
When the tooling is finished a prototype base is cast for the customer's approval.
Following approval the mould is set up for volume production.
Material specification.
Mechanical properties
| Tensile strength at break | 55 N/mm² |
|---|---|
| Tensile modulus | 8,753 N/mm² |
| Elongation at break | 1% |
| Flexural strength | 86.4 N/mm² |
| Flexural modulus | 9,473 N/mm² |
| Compressive strength | 149 N/mm² |
Mean of five specimens. Tensile to ISO 527-2:2012 and flexural to ISO 178:2019, both UKAS-accredited; compression to ISO 604:2003. Impact Solutions, Livingston, report IMP07237-LR, 30 March 2026.
Fire and decontamination
| Flame Spread Index | 10 · UL 723 |
|---|---|
| Smoke Developed Index | 350 · UL 723 |
| Surface-burning classification | Class A |
| Time to ignition | 198 seconds |
| Radioactive decontamination | 5598 · "Excellent" · BS 4247 Part 1 |
Surface burning tested to UL 723 at UL, Northbrook, Illinois, 15 September 2025, on 15 mm black material. Decontamination tested by IRAS to BS 4247 Part 1 Test A, certificate 227, 1992. Not for use with dry ice or liquid nitrogen.
Chemical resistance
24-hour spot test to SEFA 3-2020, 49 reagents, by SGS INTRON in March 2026: no detectable effect from 16 reagents, only a slight change in colour or gloss from 24 more, a clearly discernible change from eight, and one level 3 result, 96% sulphuric acid. The standard allows four level 3 results, so the material conforms. All 49 results.
Test results
- Chemical resistance to SEFA 3-2020, all 49 results (PDF)
- Simmons epoxy specifications, October 2026 (PDF)
The full test reports are available on request.
Five standard colours, one finish.
Every colour is cast with the same semi-gloss finish. Other colours are available to special order, and small material samples are free.
Colours shown are a guide only and cannot be guaranteed to match supplied components.
Request a quote, or send us your cupboard drawing.
Send your drawings or requirements and our team will come back with a quotation. Need to see the finish first? Request a free sample.