All About Thermoforming and Its Advantages
Thermoforming is a very old method of fabricating plastic. As early as 1890, teething rings and baby rattles were thermoformed with plastics that were cellulose-based. The commonly used products made from these plastics include shower stalls, bath tubs and boat hulls. Blister packs for medications are also made by this process.
The Process of Thermoforming-
Thermoforming is the simplest process of forming plastics. The procedure involves heating plastic sheets in high pressure into shapes that you wish to make. The pre-heated plastic sheets are transferred into molds until they are cooled. The edges are then trimmed and the final product is obtained. The trimmings can be reprocessed with the virgin material.
There are some variations of this process; this includes twin sheet bending, pressure forming and drape forming. Vacuum forming is another technique by which a thermoplastic sheet is heated until it becomes malleable. With the help of a good vacuum pump air is sucked out. With atmospheric pressure, the sheet is pressed down and into a mold. Thermoplastics can thus be fashioned into different shapes such as storage trays, packaging and seed trays.
Advantages of Thermoforming-
• Thermoforming is economical as the initial engineering costs are very little. The tools used in the procedure are also few.
• The speedy turnaround time makes it ideal for prototyping.
• Design modifications can be achieved in most cases.
• You can avail of painted and colored plastic.
• The process is fully integrated with a lot of flexibility for big or small product designs.
• Thermoformed plastics are used in a range of commercial and healthcare applications. Plastic trays are used in the medical field. Medical and electronic packaging industries are other fields where these plastics are used. The food packaging industry also uses it extensively.
Benefits of Vacuum Forming-
• Vacuum forming plastic plays an important role in our day-to-day lives. It is employed by a range of industries that include the food, electronics and cosmetics industry.
• This process minimizes error while being produced. Hence the products are clear-cut and well defined in the design specifications.
• Since there is low cost tooling, these plastics are affordable. With just a plastic sheet, big parts can be made.
• The packaging industry uses this process extensively from yogurt containers to food packages.
• Vacuum forming is a quick process as the design of the product and the production itself takes very little time. Additionally, automated production is possible with the sophisticated versions used today. This also enables faster delivery of products in the market.
For more information about vacuum forming and vacuum forming plastic, you may visit: ThermoPro website.
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