1、 Process technology
Material preparation: Select plastic sheets or boards suitable for thermoforming, such as PS, HIPS, PE, PP, ABS, PVC, etc. These materials should have good processing and physical properties.
Heating softening: Place the cut sheet or plate-shaped material into the heating area of the thermoforming machine, heat it to a suitable high elastic temperature, and soften the material with a certain degree of ductility.
Molding operation: After the material softens, quickly move it above the mold. By applying vacuum, air pressure, or mechanical force, the material is tightly adhered to the mold surface to form the desired shape.
Cooling and shaping: The formed material needs to be cooled to fix its shape. Usually, cooling methods such as cooling fans or cooling water are used to quickly cool the material to room temperature or slightly lower.
Cutting and trimming: After cooling and shaping, excess material is cut off to obtain the final plastic product.
2、 Key elements
Oven design: The design of the oven is crucial during the hot forming process. It is necessary to ensure that the oven can provide a uniform and stable heating environment to meet the needs of different applications.
Mold design: The shape and accuracy of the mold directly affect the shape and accuracy of the final product. Therefore, in mold design, factors such as product size, shape, and wall thickness need to be considered.
Material selection: Different materials have different processing and physical properties. When selecting materials, it is necessary to consider the product's usage environment and requirements, as well as factors such as material cost and processing difficulty.
3、 Advantages and limitations
advantage:
Low cost: Compared with injection molding and other processes, the equipment cost and mold cost of thermoforming process are lower.
High production efficiency: Thermoforming technology can quickly produce a large number of plastic products with the same shape.
Customizable: Plastic products of different shapes and sizes can be customized according to customer needs.
Limitations:
Product depth limitation: The depth of thermoformed products is limited to a certain extent, and the aspect ratio of the container usually does not exceed 2.
Poor accuracy: The accuracy of thermoformed products is relatively low, with a relative error generally above 1%.
Increased raw material costs: The sheets used in thermoforming need to be made from pellets or powders, which will increase additional raw material costs.
4、 Application Fields
Cut Sheet Thermoforming technology is widely used in multiple fields, including packaging, healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and more. For example, in the field of packaging, thermoformed trays can be used to hold fruits, vegetables, meats, and other food items; In the medical field, thermoformed products can be used to manufacture packaging and containers for medical devices and medical supplies.
