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Thermoforming Overview

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Working in a manufacturing facility, you make all kinds of goods from various materials. These materials could be in the form of plastic or metal. It depends on the process, what products are required, the machines used, and what it is in demand. Irregardless of the need, the fact remains, everything has to go through a process. With metal the process is extrusion, but with plastic, the process is thermoforming. In order to perform thermoforming, you need to know the molecular structure of plastic and use equipment that adheres to the guidelines that have been established by the thermoforming industry. In order for the process to be successful there has to be certain elements in place. These elements fall into two categories:

• Materials: If the plastic that is used is bad, this could have an undesired affect on the final outcome. There are many types of plastic material available. When you deal with these materials, you have to be careful with them, that the material does not fall into one of these areas:
o Recycled plastic – Using recycled plastic has disadvantages. The recycled plastic has been shrunk to a certain point that there is not much left. However, using this type of plastic will not cause problems when using thermoforming. The thickness may be affected slightly, but not much else.
o Inconsistent materials – Another problem that can occur when working with plastic is inconsistent materials. This happens when the plastic ordered for production does not always have the same consistency and texture. In other words, the characteristics have been changed somewhat to keep it from being the same. This does not happen often but does occur every now and then.
o Specific thermoplastics – There are some plastics that are used for only certain manufacturing processes. These plastics are used to make certain plastic parts. When you purchase plastic materials, make sure you don’t get the wrong type for what you are doing.
• Lab Procedures: This second category is just as important because it emphasizes the way plastics are created and processed. This involves using the right machines and having trained people on those machines. If any procedure is not monitored carefully, mistakes can happen. Once a mistake happens, this can have an affect on the whole process. Therefore proper lab procedures must be followed. Here are some ways to ensure procedures are followed correctly:
o Quantify procedures – The best way to make sure that all procedures are followed correctly and consistently would be to document every step, by performing test analysis and finding what works best. After this is accomplished, write documentation based on these procedures. This should minimize any problems that could occur.
o Human intervention – Besides machinery, another reason procedures can fail is the lack of skills by the employees. If employees aren’t fully trained they can make mistakes which can cost the company big time.
o Temperature – Temperature is also a problematic occurrence that must be controlled. If the plastic being made is not put into the right temperature condition, the plastic will not harden or form correctly. Therefore, temperature is important.

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