Advantages Of Thermoformable Plastic You Should Know

Put simply, thermoforming refers to a plastic moulding process where a sheet of plastic is heated to a high temperature and then formed over a mould. The plastic sheet then takes the shape of the mould when it comes into contact with it. The moulding is then normally trimmed to make a usable product.

In addition there are many other differentials in the thermoforming process, including how intricate the mould is, what finishes are required and also what materials are used.

In its simplest form, a small table top or lab size machine can be used to heat small cut sections of plastic sheets and stretch it over a mould using vacuum. This method is often used for sample and prototype parts.

Thermoforming companies also use the process of vacuum for fashioning various specific shapes and sizes of plastic sheets upon the request from clients who need custom designed solutions to get their product on the market.

Other sub processes like drape forming and pressure application are also used to get specific results in the created packages.

Material used for Thermoforming plastic sheets

Thermoforming plastic sheets are commonly made from HDPE, PP, PMMA, Polycarbonate, HIPS or ABS. Interestingly these plastic sheets are generally of much higher quality and durability than the plastic materials used in other moulding methods.

Amorphous plastics like ABS and Polycarbonate generally have wide processing windows and good melt strength making them easy to thermoform.

Some plastics like HDPE and PP have narrower processing windows and lower melting strength, which makes them more difficult (but not impossible) to thermoform.

Difference between thin-gauge Thermoforming and thick-gauge Thermoforming

Thermoforming differs from injection moulding, blow moulding, rotational moulding and other forms of processing plastics. Thin gauge thermoforming is primarily the manufacture of disposable cups, containers, lids, trays, blisters, clamshells and other products for the food, medical and general retail industries. Thick gauge thermoforming includes parts as diverse as vehicle doors, dash panels, refrigerator liners, utility vehicle beds and plastic pallets.

The advantage of Thermoformable Plastic

• There are a huge amount of benefits associated with choosing thermoforming for your plastic products over other methods such as rotational and injection moulding.
• The two most common advantages that many people address are the low costs and exceptionally fast turnaround times, these two benefits make thermoforming ideal.
• Thermoforming is the only viable process that allows for the creation of packages of large sizes from plastic sheets.
• This manufacturing process makes use of plastic sheets that are higher in quality and have good durability as compared to the ones used in other methods.
• This process enables the manufacture of a wide range of custom made products since it is believed to be the only method by which plastic sheets can be molded into bigger objects. This process also has a wider design scope.
• Thermoforming as a technology has been around for quite some time. It is a tried, tested and safe process and many skilled and expert companies have engineers for operating these machines.
• The costs involved are quite low.
• Almost all types of plastic can be used in this process, which is not the case with the other methods.