How To Thermoforming Plastic Sheets

Use a plastic cutting knife to cut the sheet down to the general overall size.

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. Here s how the process works. The sheet is drawn against the mold surface. 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.

In vacuum forming heated clamps are used to clamp the hot rubbery sheet. Many plastic sheet materials can be shaped by thermoforming. Some plastics like hdpe and pp have narrower processing windows and lower melt strength which make them more difficult but not impossible to thermoform. The sheet edges are then sealed against the rim of a female mold and vacuum is applied from the mold side.

The thermoplastic sheet is clamped and heated by an oven using either convection or heat until it is melted. 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. Thermoforming polycarbonate process step 1. Make sure the sheet is just big enough for the form.

Now this is also another crucial step that you must look into keenly. Measure the size of the of the overall piece you need. In the thermoforming process a thermoplastic sheet is heated to a temperature where it is pliable.