How To Thermoforming Plastic Sheets

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

How to thermoforming plastic sheets.

Use a plastic cutting knife to cut the sheet down to the general overall size. The thermoplastic sheet is clamped and heated by an oven using either convection or heat until it is melted. Here s how the process works. Make sure the sheet is just big enough for the form.

Essentially drape forming bottom is clamping a piece of sheet plastic in some type of clamping mechanism putting this material into a heating oven heating the plastic sheet up to a desired temperature retracting it from the oven draping it over a mold trapping the sheet just inside the clamping mechanism over the edge of the mold flange and applying a vacuum to the mold chamber. Thermoforming polycarbonate process step 1. In the thermoforming process a thermoplastic sheet is heated to a temperature where it is pliable. It is then stretched over a mould and held in place while it cools and solidifies into the desired shape.

The sheet is drawn against the mold surface. The sheet edges are then sealed against the rim of a female mold and vacuum is applied from the mold side. The truth is that before you even begin the actual thermoforming process you have to. The process of thermoforming plastics thermoforming is at its core the process of taking a sheet of plastic material heating it up until its pliable and forming it to a three dimensional shape then trimming and finishing it into a usable product.

Many plastic sheet materials can be shaped by thermoforming. Now this is also another crucial step that you must look into keenly. The edge is the first part to cool down and will be the thickest.