THERMOFORMING

What is Thermoforming ?
The thermoforming process consists of heating a thermoplastic sheet to its softening temperature, then forcing the rubbery sheet against a cool forming mold by vacuum or pressure. The sheet is then allowed to cool below its set temperature so that the plastic will retain the mold shape and detail.

Forming Methods
Drape Forming - Male Tool Snap-Back Vacuum forming - Male Tool Billow Snap-Back Vacuum forming - Male Tool Straight Vacuum forming - Female Tool Plug Assist Vacuum forming - Female Tool Plug Assist Pressure Forming - Female Tool Billow Plug Assist Vacuum/Pressure Forming Female Tool

Drape Forming

Snap-Back Vacuum forming - Male Tool

Billow Snap-Back Vacuum forming Male Tool

Straight Vacuum forming - Female Tool

Plug Assist Vacuum forming - Female Tool

Plug Assist Pressure Forming - Female Tool

FORMING TEMPERATURE
Heating is necessary to soften the sheet before forming

Heating time
The time required to heat a sheet to its proper forming temperature depends on sheet thickness, surface finish, material color, heater temperature, type of heaters used.

Generally, excessive sheet heating leads

color shift, discoloration, surface blistering, and loss of both physical and electrical properties.

COOLING
The formed part should be cooled to a temperature below its distortion or set temperature. Cooling times depends on mold temperature, mold material heat transfer properties, coolant type, part wall thickness, part design, sheet temperature and ambient temperature.

VACCUM
A good vacuum system with the capacity to quickly evacuate the volume of the air in the mold is essential. the volume of the vacuum tank should be at least four times the volume of the mold cavity. the vacuum developed by the vacuum pump should be 28.5 inches of mercury or 35 Torr.

Plastics used
ABS acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene. Acrylic Most acrylics are polymers of methyl methacrylate (PMMA) with methyl, ethyl or butyl acrylate Polycarbonate Polyesters Polyethylene Polypropylene Polystyrene

Mold design
Mold design is closely interrelated to part design,and will depend on the following factors: Part design Process and forming equipment Length of production run (projected product life) Material used for mold Cooling rates and uniformity required Draft angle

Mold design considerations

Depth of draw Ribbing & fillets radii Shrinkage Undercuts Draft angle Vaccum hole Mold temperature

Depth of draw
The relationship of a parts depth to its width is called the "depth of draw ratio".. (H:D) depth of draw ratio is a prime factor affecting the final average part wall thickness
In vacuum or drape forming, the depth of draw is usually limited to the narrowest width of the part, viz, H:D <=1. Greater draw ratios are achieved with pre stretching techniques such as plug assist forming.

Ribbing & fillet radii

Radii on ribs and fillets should not be less than the local sheet thickness. The radii should be as much as four times the local wall thickness in areas where high loading is encountered or good stiffness is required and never less than 1/32 of an inch.

Shrinkage
Molds must be oversized to allow for polymer shrinkage. On male molds and male portions of female molds, 0.3% to 0.5% shrinkage allowance is recommended. On female molds, 0.5% to 0.8% shrinkage allowance is recommended.

Undercuts
Undercuts should be avoided. If undercuts are necessary, they should be discontinuous around the periphery and should be shallow. If deep or continuous undercuts are required, breakaway portions of the mold will be needed to affect part removal without scuffing.

Draft angle

Minimum draft angle should be 2 to 5 on male molds or male portions of female molds 1/2 to 1 on female molds.

Vacuum hole
To minimize nipple height, the diameter of any vacuum hole should not exceed the local sheet thickness. For very thin sheets, alternate means of air evacuation, such as slot vents or porous plugs, should be considered to avoid nipple forma-tion. If the rate of air evacuation is too low, the sheet will not fully form against the mold. This indicates that there are an insufficient number of vacuum holes.

Mold temperature
The best part-to-part dimensional tolerance is achieved by forming against a heated mold. However, cooling cycle times increase with increased mold temperature.

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