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Thermoforming

Thermoforming is a process where a heated thermoplastic sheet is formed into a desired shape using pressure, vacuum, or mechanical methods. There are three main types of thermoforming: vacuum forming uses vacuum pressure to draw the heated sheet into a mold cavity; pressure forming uses compressed air to force the sheet into the mold; and mechanical forming uses mating male and female molds to shape the sheet. Common materials used include ABS, cellulose acetate, and various polyethylenes. Thermoforming is used to make food packaging, automotive parts, aircraft components, and more due to its design flexibility, rapid prototyping ability, and low costs.

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373 views21 pages

Thermoforming

Thermoforming is a process where a heated thermoplastic sheet is formed into a desired shape using pressure, vacuum, or mechanical methods. There are three main types of thermoforming: vacuum forming uses vacuum pressure to draw the heated sheet into a mold cavity; pressure forming uses compressed air to force the sheet into the mold; and mechanical forming uses mating male and female molds to shape the sheet. Common materials used include ABS, cellulose acetate, and various polyethylenes. Thermoforming is used to make food packaging, automotive parts, aircraft components, and more due to its design flexibility, rapid prototyping ability, and low costs.

Uploaded by

Loisroi Valdez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THERMOFORMING

THERMOFORMING

Thermoforming is the process where thermoplastic


polymer sheet is heated and deformed into desired
shape.
PROCESSES OF
THERMOFORMING:
• Heating plastic sheet to the temperature where it
softens.
• Stretching the softening polymer against a cold mold
surface.
• Cooling the finished part and trimming excess plastics.
Figure: Thermoforming Machine
STEPS OF
THERMOFORMING:
1. Heating: Heating is accomplished by radiant electric
heater which is located by at the distance of 125mm
(5inches) from the sheet.
2. Forming: After heating ,the polymer sheet is
converted or formed into various either air pressure,
vacuum or mechanical.
3 TYPES OF
THERMOFORMING
1. Vacuum forming
2. Pressure forming
3. Mechanical forming
1. VACUUM FORMING
• It is the earliest method of thermoforming.
• In vacuum forming, vacuum is created below the
preheated plastic sheet to draw sheet into the cold
mold cavity.
STEPS OF VACUUM
FORMING:
1. A flat plastic sheet is heated by radiant heater, which
is place on one or either side of the plastic of 125mm
distance.
2. The softened sheet is placed over a concave cavity.
3. Vacuum draws the sheet to the sheet to the cold
cavity.
4. The product is cooled and extra plastic parts are
trimmed.
Figure: Vacuum Thermoforming Machine
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES OF
VACUUM FORMING:
• Advantages:
• Operated comparatively at low vacuum pressure
• Relatively Cheap
• Disadvantage:
• Uneven wall thickness at the corner of the product.
• Bad finishing or non uniform plastic concentration.
• The thinnest area occur at the corner, near the clamp/
2. PRESSURE FORMING
• Alternative to vacuum forming.
• Here, the air pressure is forces to the preheated sheet
into the cold mold. The air pressure is much higher than
the vacuum forming.
• The basic difference between vacuum forming is the
heated sheet is pressured from above the mold cavity.
• Due to high pressure, the heated sheet can be
deformed in fraction of section which causes its high
production rate.
Figure: Pressure Thermoforming Machine
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES OF
PRESSURE FORMING:
• Advantages:
• High production rate
• Efficient for large parts
• Low tooling costs
• Disadvantages:
• Limited shape complexity
3. MECHANICAL
THERMOFORMING
• In mechanical forming, air pressure or vacuum pressure
do not use to drag the plastic sheet.
• Here, positive (male) and negative (female) molds are
brought against heated plastic sheet, forcing it to the
assumed shape.
• Air between the die and sheet is evacuated by using
vacuum pump, and sheet conforms to the mold shape.
• Formed part is cooled and ejected.
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES OF
MECHANICAL FORMING:
• Advantages:
• Better dimensional control.
• Opportunity for surface detailing of both sides of the
parts.
• Disadvantages:
• Two mold halves are required
• Relatively costly
MATERIALS USED IN
THERMOFORMING:
• ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
• Cellulose acetate
• LDPE (Low density polyethylene)
• HDPE (High density polyethylene)
• PVC
APPLICATIONS OF
THERMOFORMING:
• Food packaging
• Automotive parts
• Aircraft windscreens
• Vehicle doors
ADVANTAGES OF
THERMOFORMING:
• Flexible design
• Rapid prototype development
• High production rate
• Low set up cost
• Less thermal stress
DISADVANTAGES OF
THERMOFORMING:
• Not eligible for thermosets
• All parts need to be trimmed
• Parts may be not uniform in thickness
THANK YOU!

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