A Necessity for the Custom Thermoformer
A laboratory thermoformer is designed to enable the user to carry out trial runs with single or multiple cavity molds and duplicate conditions found in fully automatic production equipment. Efforts should be made to include features found in production machinery so that all results would be repeatable.
Pressure Forming………… a plus
It’s critical that a laboratory has sufficient pressure forming capability to form polypropylene, oriented polystyrene, ovenable PET and other difficult to form materials.
During the forming cycle where the softened plastic is forced to conform to the contours of the mold, a combination of the following techniques; pressure forming, plug assist forming or vacuum forming can be used. A machine should be equipped with movable upper and lower platens permitting mounting of tooling on both platens. The oven unit is stationary with radiant heating panels above and below the sheet to provide controlled and uniform heating.
The entire sequence of operation should be automatic, with the exception of the manual feeding of the plastic sheet and the removal of the formed part from the mold. Also functions for the automatic operation should be performed independently by switching into the electrical / manual sequence. A self-adjusting clamp frame to hold any thickness of plastic sheet tightly in its grip also is a plus.
