Vacuum forming of plastic sheet

Vacuum forming of plastic refers to the process of shaping plastic into a specific shape by creating a vacuum between a heated sheet and a mold. This process is carried out on industrial thermoforming machines. Sheets of thermoplastic polymer are used as blanks. The most popular forming materials are: ABS, acrylic, polystyrene, polyplastic, polycarbonate, HDPE, etc.

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Products made by this method areused in many fields of activity:

• In the production of containers and packaging;
• In the car and aviation sector;
• In the production of different equipment;
• In the agricultural sector;
• In the building industry;
• Etc.

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Technologically, the vacuum forming process is divided into several stages:

• Preparation of matrix and vacuum forming machine for work;
• Clamping the workpiece on the forming table of the equipment;
• Fastening the plastic sheet in the reduction frame;
• Heating up the thermoplasticplastic sheet;
• Intermediate technical steps to control the behavior, temperature of the sheet and the matrix;
• Pulling the plastic onto the mold, working with the counter matrix and punch;
• Creation of a vacuum between sheet and mold;
• Cooling the formed product;
• Removing the product from the matrix;
• Trimming and finishing works of the product.

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These technological steps include various actions, which may or may not be present, depending on the technical level of the equipment on which the plastic is formed. For example, if the equipment is of a high industrial class, then a radiation pyrometer is installed on it, which, according to a given program, monitors the temperature of the sheet and continues the forming process at the value required for the operator. In a budget vacuum forming machine, the heating time is tracked over time, and it is determined empirically method.

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The MACHINETIC company manufactures vacuum forming machines of various classes, from desktop to industrial series, specifically:

Advantages of vacuum forming technology:

• The ability to produce thin-walled products (from 0.1 mm);
• The ability to produce products with a large surface area;
• Low cost of manufacturing a matrix;
• Quick start of production of the required product;
• Low cost of small batches ofproducts;
• Fast payback;
• Environmental friendliness of production.

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Disadvantages of vacuum forming technology:

• Using only sheet or roll thermoplastic plastic;
• Limited forming technology (it is impossible to make a product with negative angles, large radius of corners, inability to accurately control the wall thickness);
• Long cycle time (from 1 to 15 minutes);
• Low accuracy of final products;
• Post-processing (cropping) required.

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If you want to buy a vacuum forming machine - contact us in any way convenient for you. Our expertswill calculate the appropriateness of using vacuum forming technology for your specific task.