What is Thermoforming?

Thermoforming is a plastic molding technique that results in a variety of highly usable products. During this manufacturing process, thin plastic sheets are heated in order to make them easy to manipulate. Once a sheet reaches a pliable temperature, it is formed over a male or female mold. After being cooled to a finished shape, the end product is trimmed in order to increase its usability. Vacuum forming uses heat and pressure to draw plastic sheets into its final configuration. Once a sheet is heated and placed over a mold, a vacuum is used to manipulate it into its desired shape.

Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or "film" when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in an oven to a high-enough temperature that it can be stretched into or onto a mold and cooled to a finished shape.

In its simplest form, a small tabletop or lab size machine can be used to heat small cut sections of plastic sheet and stretch it over a mold using the vacuum. This method is often used for sample and prototype parts. In complex and high-volume applications, very large production machines are utilized to heat and form the plastic sheet and trim the formed parts from the sheet in a continuous high-speed process and can produce many thousands of finished parts per hour depending on the machine and mold size and the size of the parts being formed.

Thermoforming differs from injection molding, blow molding, rotational molding, and other forms of processing plastics. Thin-gauge thermoforming is primarily the manufacture of disposable cups, containers, lids, trays, blisters, clamshells, and other products for the food, medical, and general retail industries. Thick-gauge thermoforming includes parts as diverse as vehicle door and dash panels, refrigerator liners, utility vehicle beds, and plastic pallets.

Most thermoforming companies recycle their scrap and waste plastic, either by compressing in a baling machine or by feeding into a granulator (grinder) and producing ground flake, for sale to reprocessing companies or re-use in their own facility. Frequently, scrap and waste plastic from the thermoforming process is converted back into the extruded sheet for forming again.

Here is how Thermoforming works during our production for your reference:

Here are some raw materials we often use: 

Guangzhou Seal Vacuum Forming Technology Co., Ltd, is a modern manufacturing enterprise, specializing in large thick sheets forming R&D, design, production, sales, and technology services. The headquarters locates in Baiyun district, Guangzhou. It covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters. Our service includes the design and production of molds, vacuum forming, injection molding and etc.

In recent years, SEAL keeps importing advanced technology and equipment at home and abroad, making a bold innovation of the new technology. We can provide all-round solutions of large thick sheet forming processing to meet the production needs of different customers.
Sticking to the business principle of “quality first, customer supreme, constant innovation, ambitious enterprises”, SEAL has been developing very fast in the thick sheet forming the business. It attracted a large number of talents in mold design and vacuum forming production.

After many years of development in the vacuum forming field, SEAL has provided high-quality vacuum forming products for many famous enterprises and accumulate rich technical experience. As a result, we earn a high reputation among customers for product quality and after-sale services.
SEAL will keep importing and developing new technology as always, striving for making greater breakthroughs in the field of medical instruments, bathtubs, interior and exterior decoration of cars, and so on, further consolidating the leading position in the industry, providing more perfect technology services for the customers.

1) Clients send inquiry to us and provide 3D drawings or sufficient information (length x width x height x thickness, quantity, material, color, etc.)

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