Clarke® FM40™ ST & LX Orbital Floor Machine, 14 x 20 Inch, 3,540 RPM

It's Saturday morning. The restroom grout has gone gray, the gym needs screening before Monday's recoat, and the finish along the hallway lockers has to come off. A swing buffer can do some of that, if the person on the handle has run one for years. The Clarke FM40 is an orbital floor machine: its 14 x 20 inch pad moves in tight 1/4-inch orbits 3,540 times a minute, pressed down with 160 lb of weight from a 1.5 hp motor and three 21 lb weights.

There's no swing to fight, so it goes where you push it, and the square deck reaches into corners and along walls that a round pad never touches. It comes in two versions: the FM40 ST, and the deluxe FM40 LX with a baseboard cleaner, a wheels-down driving mode and a handle that comes off without tools.

The Owner's Insights on the Clarke FM40

I'll start with the price, because you'll notice it first. The FM40 ST costs $4,400 more than a Clarke CFP Pro 20HD swing machine. So who should buy it?

The crew that wants finish off without a mop bucket full of stripper, and the crew whose new hire has never held a buffer. The weight does the work here: 98 lb of machine plus three 21 lb weights that drop onto the base, and nearly all of it sits on the pad. An orbital deck doesn't pull sideways like a swing machine, so it tracks straight from the first minute.

My honest note: it's not a burnisher, and it won't replace an auto scrubber on big open floors. A flat pad also rides over low spots, so very uneven floors or heavy finish buildup may still need a chemical strip. If that's your week, the Clarke CFP Pro HD floor machine is the cheaper tool.

Why You'll Love the Clarke FM40

• 3,540 RPM orbital deck. The pad works in 1/4-inch orbits instead of wide circles, so the machine goes where you steer it instead of swinging side to side.

• 160 lb of down pressure. Three 21 lb weights ride on the base, which is what lets the pad cut finish and grout soil in fewer passes.

• 14 x 20 inch rectangular pad. Square corners reach into room corners and along baseboards where a round pad leaves a strip of dirty floor.

• 68 dB(A) with vibration damping. Clarke packs damping material into the body, so you can work near offices and classrooms without clearing the hall.

• 50-foot, 14/3 safety-yellow cord. Long reach from each outlet, and the bright jacket is easy to see and keep clear of the pad.

• Wet or dry, one deck. Swap pads for scrubbing, dry stripping, gym recoat prep with sanding screens, grout, bonnet carpet cleaning or burnishing terrazzo, marble and concrete.

FM40 ST or LX: Do You Want the Built-In Baseboard Scrubber?

Both versions share the motor, deck, weights, cord and speed. The FM40 LX adds three things for $352 more. A baseboard cleaner clips to the front, so nobody scrubs baseboards on their knees. Its 6-inch wheels lower for back-and-forth driving like a burnisher, controlled with one hand. And the handle detaches without tools, so the base (about 78 lb) and the handle load into a van separately.

The FM40 ST runs wheels-up only on 5-inch wheels and lifts as one 98 lb piece once the weights are off, a two-person job. The baseboard cleaner is an option for it.

Orbital Floor Machine or Swing Machine?

For weekly chemical stripping on open floors, a 175 RPM swing machine like the Clarke CFP Pro 17HD and 20HD does the job for far less. If you also spray buff, the CFP Pro 20DS dual speed floor machine adds a 330 RPM setting. The FM40 earns its price on chemical-free stripping, corners and edges, grout, gym screening and operators who've never run a buffer. Compare them all in our floor machines collection.

Not sure? Send us your square footage, floor type and how you strip today, or call (855) 601-5678. We'll tell you which machine fits, including when it's the cheaper one.

The FM40 takes 14 x 20 inch pads, the same size as Clarke's 14 x 20 BOOST pads: red for routine scrubbing, blue for heavy scrubbing, black for stripping and white for polishing. Clarke also lists a maroon prep pad, a green grout pad, sanding screens from 60 to 120 grit, Gorilla diamond pads and a carpet bonnet. Pads press onto the grip face, with no center lock to fit.

Replace a pad once it's matted down to 3/8 inch, and never run the machine without one, because Clarke warns that it damages the grip face. Options include a 2.5 gal solution tank kit, a dust containment (vacuum skirt) kit for dry work and the baseboard kit for the ST. If the machine starts to shake more than it used to, the isolator kit replaces the four rubber mounts under the base.

Why You Should Consider a Clarke Floor Machine

Clarke is a Nilfisk brand, and the FM40 is the successor to its BOS-18 orbital machine. Nilfisk's current policy covers floor machines for 3 years parts, 3 years labor and 1 year travel through authorized service centers. We're an authorized Clarke retailer, so that warranty is yours from day one.

Which pad goes on this machine? Our floor pad color chart explains what each color does, from white polishing pads to black stripping pads.

Clarke FM40 Specifications

Document Downloads

Found a lower price? Call or message us and we'll beat it. Returns follow our return policy.

Ready when you are: pick the ST or the LX above and add it to your cart, or message us first if you'd like a second opinion on which floor machine fits.