Technical Manual

THERMOFORMING

INDEX

Thermoforming principles
-History of thermoforming industry
-Products manufactured by thermoforming

Suitable polymers for thermoforming

-Thermal properties
-Temperature
-Heat measurement
-Specific heat
-Thermal conductivity

Heating plastics
-Heat transfer: conductivity, convection
and radiation
-Thermal properties of plastics
-Heat transmission media
-Temperatures and forming cycles
-Establishing the right temperature
for the material

11

Thermoforming equipments
-Gas furnaces with pressured air circulation
-Infrared heating furnace
-Lineal heating electric resistors

17

Complementary equipment: vacuum, pressured air

and mechanical forces
-Vacuum forming
-Pressured air forming
-Mechanical forming
-Combined techniques
-Mechanical support design
Thermoforming molds
-Choosing thermoforming technique
-Criteria to design thermoformed products
-Criteria to design thermoforming molds
-Considerations in designing thermoforming
molds
-Materials used to manufacture tthermoform ing molds
2

Thermoforming

25

31

Thermoforming techniques
-Bi-dimensional thermoforming
-Tri-dimensional thermoforming (with molds)
-Molding techniques in infrared heating
furnace

46

Cooling thermoformed products

-Conventional cooling methods
-Non-conventional cooling methods

51

Cutting thermoformed products

-Cutting equipment
-Cutting techniques

53

Thermoforming variables
-Material variables
-Mold variables
-Pre-stretching variables
-Mechanical support variables

58

Problem and solution guide

62

Appendix

68
-Glossary
-Glass fiber reinforced plastic
-Unit conversion table

Thermoforming

Thermoforming principles
History of
thermoforming
industry

Since the beginning of the XX century some techniques to form sheets, with materials
such as metal, glass and natural fibers, have been known. The true thermoforming
principles emerged as thermoplastic materials were developed, which happened during the second world war. The post-war period brought about mass commercialization
and rapid development of equipment and machinery capable to adapt to the manufacturing modern methods, to make more useful and income yielding products.
In the 50s, the volume of thermoplastic material production and the products made
with it reached impressive figures. In the 60s, by developing the thermoforming industry, the foundations for the future were established. Then huge consumers and product competitiveness, in the 70s, required high speed productive machinery. Equipment
manufacturers met those needs by making machinery capable to produce about one
hundred thousand thermoformed individual containers per hour. Sophisticated controls
were also required.
Since the 80s up to the present, thermoformers have so much relied on their process
that they have gone beyond their expectations and have established production lines
that can produce finished thermoformed products, not only from sheets but also from
resin pellets; besides, they recycle the scrap with minimum control. Equipments have
been computerized and at present, they can perform auto-monitoring and diagnostic
functions. Nowadays, very complex equipment does not require more than one worker to handle and control it thanks to electronic advances. Thus, it is believed that the
thermoforming industrial labor market will undergo a shortage of technically trained
and experienced personnel, since traditional knowledge will no longer be enough.
Therefore, lectures, seminars, courses, etc., would be useful to increase thermoformers general knowledge, and would further advance this well established industry.

Manufacturing
thermoformed
products

Many of the thermoformed products in use at present have been manufactured to

replace their original use forms. This has taken place so fast that those original ones
have been almost forgotten. For example: it is not easy to remember in what hamburgers were packed before the arrival of the one piece polystyrene package or what
kind of material lined the interior of refrigerators.
The following list begins with the area with the most number of thermoformed pieces
and continues in a decreasing order up to the one with the fewer pieces.
Packaging industry
Since the beginning of the thermoforming process, the packaging industry has been
the most benefited due to the high productivity and benefits (cost-profit) that it offers.

Thermoforming

At present, most of the packaging equipments (blister) are high speed automatically
sustained. These equipments are called "form-fill-seal" and are used to pack cosmetics, cold cuts, sodas, candies, stationery, etc.
Take away food industry
In the growing "take away food" industry, a great deal of thermoformed products are
used, ranging from a complete meal container (divided containers), to hamburgers and
sandwich packages, sodas, etc.
Usually, that industry requires printed thermoformed packages. This printing can be
made before or after thermoforming. Some examples of this are trays, cups, sandwich,
hamburger, hot-dog packages, etc.
Food packaging industry
Supermarkets are the great consumers of thermoformed containers. The materials
used are low-cost thermoplastics. These are designed to be piled or placed in different forms. Examples: meat, fruit, eggs and vegetables containers.
Transport
Public and private transport such as bus, train subway, plane, car, etc., has within its
equipment many thermoformed plastic parts. Most of these are used for inside finishing or non-structural exterior parts. In others, they are used for seats, backs and arms
of seats, fronts of doors, service tables, wind-shields, instrument protectors, guards,
spoilers, etc.
Signaling and advertisements
These are usually made of acrylic and can consist of only one piece and can be very
large. Transparent (clear) acrylic is generally used and it is painted on the inside using
acrylic based paint.
The use of acrylics for exteriors makes advertisements weather resistant and they virtually need no maintenance; furthermore, they can stand extreme cold or hot weather
conditions. Exterior lighted bill-boards, interior advertisements, signaling in public
places, offices, etc., are some examples.
Household products
There is a great deal of products that have thermoformed parts; actually, they are produced in great quantities. They can be found in cabinet, washing machines, dish
washers, dryers, refrigerators, air conditioning outlets, humidifiers, T.V. and radio cabinets, etc.
Food industry
One of the oldest and greatest thermoformed product consumers is the food industry.
The use of trays and other accessories has a greater potential use, besides the great
5

Thermoforming

users like hospitals, nurseries, schools fairs and others, there are the military sector
and international aid organizations. Some examples of products are: trays, cups and
plates.
Medical industry
The medical industry requires a great variety of products and sterilized packaging for
hospitals, clinics and doctors offices. The specifications for these products are usually very strict and recycling materials is unacceptable.
The use of acrylic , since it is physiologically harmless, is growing every day. Some
examples are: chirurgical equipment, syringes and needles, chirurgical tables, cabinets, incubators, dentists seats and exercise platforms.
Agriculture and horticulture
Commercialization of decoration plants in supermarkets and specialized shops has
generated, for some time, the need to make flower pots and small containers, including with multiple divisions for exhibiting and selling. This kind of containers are made
of recycled plastic at low cost. Flower pots, different size and divided containers, small
green houses, trays for growing seeds, planting containers, etc., are some examples.
Constructin and housing
For some years, construction industry has used thermoformed products, which have
become quickly popular. Thermoformed parts have easily replaced a lot of products.
Actually, there are products that cannot be manufactured any other way, such as skylights or cannon arches. In this sector, acrylic is used a lot because of its weather
resistant properties and its thermoforming quality.
Examples of these are: skylights, cannon arches, hydro-massage tubs, bath modules,
wash basins, bathroom screens and cabinets, tables, chairs, lamp stands, kitchen
items, stairs, frontages, partings, windows, aquariums, etc.
Luggage
Some luggage manufacturers are deciding in favor of using the thermoforming
process, since it has advantages over the injection products. Because it is molded
effortlessly, the possibility of thermoformed products fracturing is reduced. Examples:
all kinds of suitcases, briefcases, etc.
Photography equipment
One of the oldest thermoformed products is the tray used for developing photos, also
flash bulbs (metallic reflector) and the magazine for standing cameras, even though its
manufacturing requires a precision thermoforming technique.

Thermoforming

Suitable polymers for thermoforming

Basically, every thermoplastic polymer is suitable for the thermoforming process.
Those materials, when exposed to heating, show an elasticity, hardness, and resistance capacity, under load variation in their module. With an increased temperature over
the H.D.T., the material will tend to become rubber-like, having as critical value the
temperature of annealing of the thermoplastic polymer. This can be seen in the rapid
bending of the hot sheet, when the force of gravity is strong enough to cause this
deformity.
Table 1 shows the suitable and most common polymers for thermoforming, as well as
their temperature.

HEATING DEFLECTION
TEMPERATURE
POLYMERS

Extruded acrylic
Cell-cast acrylic
Cellulose acetobutyrate
High density polyethylene
Polypropylene
Polystyrene
High impact polystyrene
SAN
ABS
Polyvinyl chloride (RV.C.)
Polycarbonate

Thermal
properties

AT 264
PSI
(F)

AT 66
PSI
(F)

201.2
204.8
149-167

208.4
230
167-176
140-176
230-239
158-212
194-203
221
176-248
167
248

131-149
158-203
185-203
212
167-239
158
266

WITHOUT
CHARGE
(F)

THERMOFORMING
TEMPERATURE
SHEET
TEMP.
(F)

275-347
320-356
248-302 284-320
212
293-374
293-392
284
284-338
212
338-356
248
428-446
248-356
203
275-347
230
356-446
320

MOLD
TEMP.
(F)

AID
TEMP
(F)

149-167
149-167
203

338

113-149
113-149

194
194

158-185
113
203-248

194
176
284

One of the least considered aspects in thermoforming practice, is that of the thermal properties of polymers which is one of the most relevant and critical aspects of
the process. Wholly understanding these factors will reduce the risk of long pre-production run or bad adjusting of the product to the outline.
When we talk about thermal properties, it is indispensable to establish the concepts
related to this topic. First, it must be remembered that energy often dissipates
through friction and then it appears as heat or the inner thermal energy of a body.
Of course, some times, heat in a substance is increased deliberately to change its
temperature or its form.

Thermoforming

Specific heat and thermal conductivity are two of the physical properties of polymers
that are extensively used in thermoforming.
Temperature

In the thermal phenomenon debate some terms and concepts must be included. The
first thermal property is temperature. Temperature is the measurement of the degree of
"heat" or "cold" in an object. A temperature scale must be established, water properties
have been taken as a parameter, specially the degree of ice fusion and water boiling.
There are three scales to measure the temperature of a substance: the scale in centigrade
degrees (C), Fahrenheit (F), and Kelvin (K), the first two are the most commonly used.

Heat
measurement

Heat is simply a form of energy, therefore, the suitable physics unit to measure heat is
the same as the one for mechanical energy and it is the joule (J). As in the case of temperature, water is used as parameter of substance to define the heat unit. The amount
of heat needed to raise the temperature of 2.2 pounds of water by one degree [at present it is taken as 58.1F to 59.9 F (14.5 C to 15.5 C) is defined as 1 calorie (cal)].

Specific
heat

When a calorie is added to 2.2 pounds of water, the water temperature increases 33.8
degree, for example: if the same amount of heat is added to the same amount of methylalcohol, the temperature rises about 35.06 degrees, or if 1 cal. is added to 2.2 pounds
of aluminum, the temperature of the metal rises about 41 degrees. In fact, each substance will respond differently when exposed to heat. The amount of heat needed to
raise 33.8 degree in 2.2 pounds substance is called specific heat of that substance.
Water works as a parameter and it has been determined as 1 cal./pounds, and it is taken
as a basis to compare every material. Excepting water, most materials have a specific
heat, lower than plastics.

Thermal
conductivity

Thermal conductivity is one of the three ways by which heat energy can be transferred
from one place to another; it results from the molecular movement and therefore, it
needs the presence of matter. Heat energy is transferred by collisions where the rapid
movement of atoms and molecules of the hotter object transfers part of the energy to
the colder object or the one with a slower movement of atoms and molecules. When a
substance is heated, it expands, heat increases the volume of a substance and diminishes its density. The thermal conductivity of acrylic is 0.0005 cal./seg. cm2

Thermal
expansion

Thermal expansion derives from increasing the temperature of a substance, and as a

consequence it expands, actually, almost every substance: solid, liquid or gas has the
property to increase its size, as its temperature rises. As for thermoforming, when a
polymer is heated the mobility of molecular chains increases, therefore, they tend to
separate from each other, increasing the volume and area of the polymer. This property is extremely important especially in thermoformed pieces, which are exposed to
sudden changes of temperature or weather conditions. In thermoforming, the plastic
sheet is expanded more rapidly than the metal frame, creating some wrinkles near the
frame, which disappear when the sheet contracts. The numeric values of the coefficients for heating and cooling are identical; this means that it takes the same time for

Thermoforming

a piece to get hot as to get cool. It must be taken into consideration that there might
be problems when the thermoformed parts have to be within a very close dimensional
tolerance. There might be other kinds of problems when there is shrinkage in a male
mold, making it difficult to remove the part from the mold. The thermal expansion coefficient of acrylic is 0.00009 cm./cm./C.

Thermoforming

Heating plastics
Heat transfer:
conduction,
convection
and radiation

In the thermoforming process, the heating operation is one of the longest stages in
which there might be present the most difficulties and material and human resources
waste. That is why this chapter is devoted to heat transfer, aiming at trying to clarify
phenomena that might occur in plastics heating operation.
Although scientists have divided heat transfer into three different phenomena: conduction, convection and radiation, in practice, the three phenomena are concurrent.
Conduction
This is heat transfer from one part of a body to another part of the same body, or from
one body to another which is in physical contact with it, without a substantial displacement of the particles of the body.
Convection
This is heat transfer from one point to another, in a fluid, gas or liquid (by mixing one
part of the fluid with another). In natural convection, the movement of the fluid totally
derives from the difference in density as a result of different temperatures. In the forced
convection, which is the one we are interested in, the movement is produced by
mechanical means. When velocity is relatively low, it must be noted that free convection factors, such as different temperature and density, may have an important influence.
Radiation
This is heat transfer from one body to another that is not in contact with it, by means
of a wavy movement through space.
For the purposes of thermoforming process, three media for heat transfer are considered:
A) Contact with a solid, liquid or hot gas.
B) Infrared radiation.
C) Internal excitation or by microwaves.
The first two ones are very much used in plastic thermoforming and for several of them
the scope of temperature is between 120C and 205C (250F and 400F).

10

Thermoforming

Thermal
properties
of plastics

Plastics are poor heat conductors; therefore, thick sheets need a considerably long
time to heat. In table 8, there are some thermal properties of some materials to be compared. In plastic thermoforming the method and size of the heating equipment must be
taken into consideration.
Heating a sheet on both sides (sandwich-like heating) helps to reduce the time taken
in this operation. In some cases, heating time can be reduced if the sheet is pre-heated and kept at a medium temperature; however, this is rarely done with less than 6mm.
thick materials.
In addition, the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of plastics is high,
compared with any other material; except water. To estimate the needed heat for a
sheet, the following formula can be used.
Required heat = Length X width X thickness X density of material X (specific heat X different temperature + fusion heat)
Table 8: Thermal properties of some materials.

MATERIALS

Air
Water
Ice
Soft wood
Hard wood
Phenol R.
Epoxy R.
Polyethylene
Acrylic
Polycarbonate
Graphite
Glass
Quartz
Aluminum
Steel
Copper

11

Thermoforming

SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
g/cm3

SPECIFIC
HEAT
Btu/ Ib 0F

0.0012
1
0.92
0.5
0.7
1.5
1.6-2.1
0.96
1.19
1.2
1.5
2.5
2.8
2.7
7.8
8.8

0.24
1
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.3
0.37
0.35
0.30
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.23
0.10
0.092

FUSION
HEAT
Btu/lb

144
144

55

171
171
88

THERMAL
CONDUCTIVITY
Btu ft/sq ft hr 0F
0.014
0.343
1.26
0.052
0.094
0.2
0.1-0.8
0.28
0.108
0.112
87
0.59
4y8
90
27
227

THERMAL
COEFFICIENT
of LINEAL
in/in 0F10-5

2.8
1.5
1.5
3-5
1.5-2.8
7
3.5
3.7
0.44
0.5
0.4 y 0.7
1.35
0.84
0.92

Heat
transfer
media

For practical purposes we will divide the media for heat transfer into 4 types:
Heating by contact
The fastest heating method is placing a plastic sheet directly in contact with a hot
metal sheet. It is specially used in mass production of small and thin items.
Heating by immersion
With this method, a plastic sheet is immersed in some liquid that transmits heat as
evenly and quickly as possible, but its use is restricted to molding parts out of huge or
very thick sheets, since handling and cleaning of the piece are very difficult
Heating by convection
Furnaces with air convection are widely used, because they provide even heating and
can, to a certain degree, dry some materials that contain some degree of moisture.
These furnaces provide a huge safety margin as for time variations in thermoforming
cycles.
Important note:
All the above mentioned heating media require a considerable amount of time to preheat the equipment.
Infrared heating:
This method can supply instant heating and therefore, its exposition cycles are very
short, and sometimes it takes only a few seconds. The main sources of this kind of
energy are:
-Quartz lamps that emit in the visible and near infrared.
-Ceramic or metal resistors that emit more energy in the far infrared.
The surface of these radiation heaters can be between 599 F and 1301 (315C and
705C). It must be noticed that at the highest temperatures, the mass of radiation
occurs at shorter wave lengths. On the other hand, at lower temperatures, radiation
expands on longer wave lengths; and this is extremely important, since each plastic
absorbs infrared radiation in different areas. Only the radiation absorbed is used to heat
plastic directly.
Internal heating
This method has not had enough application in thermoforming because the equipment
used is very expensive. Besides, it is not suitable for every plastic, and cooling time is
very long. It is useful in forming processes where localized heating is required on a specific area of the material. For example, when forming edges of material which has a
high loss factor, such as P.V.C.

12

Thermoforming

In certain applications, thermoformed products show uneven parts, even when a sheet
has been uniformly heated. Heterogeneous shrinkage of a sheet is due to the very
design of that part. In those special cases, controlling heat by section will give more
uniform wall areas. This procedure is called shading or screening and it consists in
placing a non-flammable filter to regulate heat (a wire net, asbestos, etc.) between the
sheet and the source of heat, this will reduce the flow of heat to certain areas of the
material, and will prevent excessive stretching on that area.
In more sophisticated equipments, at present, there are electronic controls and ceramic parabolic elements that allow variability when heating different areas of the sheet.
Temperatures
and forming
cycles

Before we start with temperatures and forming cycles, we will establish some terminology:
a) Temperature to remove items off a mold
b) Operation: bottom limit
c) Normal temperature to form
d) Operation: top limit
Temperature to remove item off a mold
It is the temperature at which an item can be removed off the mold without distortion.
Some times an item can be removed at higher temperature if cooling devices are used.
Operation bottom limit
This represents the lowest temperature at which the material can be formed without
internal effort. This means that the plastic sheet must touch each corner of the mold
before it reaches its bottom limit. The material processed under this limit will show
internal effort that later will cause distortions, glow loss, cracking and other physical
changes in the finished product.
Normal temperature to form
This is the temperature at which a sheet must be formed in a normal operation. It must
cover the whole sheet. Shallow thermoformed items with the aid of air or vacuum will
allow a bit lower temperatures, and this translates into shorter cycles. On the other
hand, deep forming requires high temperatures, as well as for pre-stretching operations, details or intricate radiuses.
Operation top limit
Under this temperature a thermoplastic sheet begins to degrade, and it also turns too
fluid and cannot be handled. These temperatures can be exceeded, but only with modified formulations that improve the physical conditions of the sheet. Injection and extrusion molding, actually use much higher temperatures, but only for very short periods of
time.

13

Thermoforming

General recommendations
a) The characteristics of a finished product are determined by the kind of thermoforming technique used.
b) The material must be heated evenly at the annealing and forming point, before it
cools below its molding temperature.
c) Acrylic must cool slowly and evenly while it is in the mold.
d) The formed piece must be cool before any finishing is done, like spraying paint or
serigraphy.
e) In the design of a piece, a 2% shrinkage in both directions and a 4% increase in
thickness must be taken into consideration, as well as a 0.6% contraction at 1%
when cooling
Temperatures and forming cycles
As it was previously mentioned, one of the most important steps of the thermoforming
process is determining the right temperature of the material. For acrylic, the right selection of annealing or normal temperature will prevent:
At a low temperature:
Internal effort concentrates in the thermoformed piece which later, under sudden environmental temperature changes, will emerge as fissures or cracking.
At high temperature:
Bubbles and mold marks, due to extreme heating.
Table 9 shows the ranging temperatures for Plastiglas acrylic sheet, for general use,
and Sensacryl FP, deep molding sheet.
Table 9
TEMPERATURE RANGE
KIND OF MATERIAL

14

BOTTOM LIMIT
(OF)

TOP LIMIT
(OF)

Plastiglas (general use)

320

356

Sensacryl (deep molding)

356

392

Thermoforming

In Mexico, due to the high cost of electricity, it is more common to use a convection
furnace with pressured air re-circulation by means of gas, for which a very practical formula is very useful to determine the permanence time for an acrylic sheet, taking into
consideration the annealing temperature range previously adjusted.
Formula: 53.3 X E (inches) = T (min.)
Where : 53.3 = Factor, E = Thickness of material, T = time.
This formula can be used for thin (0.04 to 0.24 inches) Chemcast sheets. For thicker
sheets, the factor has to be changed as follows:
Formula: 3 X E (inches) = T (min). Ex: 53.3 X 0.118 = 6.30 min.
As it has already been mentioned, there are variables that may modify these formulas,
such as: environmental temperature of the place where the furnace is located, cure
(especially in extreme weather conditions), material thickness fluctuation and the conditions of the equipment among other things.
Forming temperature
Every thermoplastic material has a process specific temperature. These ranges apply
without taking into consideration the way the material will be processed. The most
used materials compared with acrylic are mentioned in table 10:
Table 10, Ranges of forming temperature

MATERIAL

Acrylic CHEMCAST
Sensacryl FP
ABS
Polycarbonate
AD Polyethylene

EstablishIng
the right
temperature
of the material

SHEET
TEMP.
(0F )
320- 356
356-392
257-356
392-482
320-428

BOTTOM NORMAL
(0F )
LIMIT
0
(F)
320
356
257
392
320

338
374
329
455
374

TOP
LIMIT
(0F )

REMOVAL
TEMP.

(0F )

MOLD
TEMP.
(0F )

MECHANICAL
SUPPORT
TEMP
. (F)

356
392
356
482
428

248
266
185
284
185

149-167
158-176
158-185
194-248
194-212

210
248
338

Another important factor in the thermoforming process, is establishing the right temperature for plastic material. You must bear in mind that apart from the heat transmission medium, a sheet must be heated at the recommended range of temperature
(annealing range), besides, a sheet has to be heated in an evenly way.
In practice, it is not easy to accurately establish the temperature of the sheet, even
when using contact thermometers; therefore, this determination is based on the performance of a sheet. The gradual change in which a sheet yields during the heating

15

Thermoforming

process (annealing point), is one of the cues to establish the right temperature. Some
controls for infrared radiation thermoforming equipment have been developed, where
a sheet is fastened horizontally, and the "yielding" or "bending" phenomenon is used,
and photo-electric cells control heating time and/or temperature.

Clamp

Frame
Vacuum box

Photo-electric cells
Solenoid valve controlled by
photoelectric cells.

However, this criterion cannot be applied indiscriminately to every plastic, since some
materials may over-heat before they begin to yield or bend. Although a range of temperature is established, the expected temperature of a sheet may not be achieved; this
may be caused by:
a) Fluctuations in the thickness of the material
b) Temperature changes in the equipment and/or environment
c) Minimum fluctuations in the line voltage (in infrared equipment).
d) The regulator of the pressured air circulation gas equipment may not be the right
one, there is not enough gas pressure, the burner is not the right one or it may be
blocked with soot, etc.
There are cone formed pyrometers, infrared radiation or gas (hot air) heating tablets,
that can render a more accurate measurement. Although probably, the best way to
measure the temperature of a sheet is by means of an infrared pistol, which measures
by zones; though the equipment is expensive, it is the only one that measures the temperature of a sheet accurately and reliably.

16

Thermoforming

Thermoforming equipments
Originally, convection furnaces were the first equipments to heat plastic sheets that
were going to be thermoformed, and up to now, that kind of heating is still preferred
for sheets of different thickness, and for temperature even distribution.
Heat can be applied with gas or electric resistor units. To produce air circulation from
4,500 to 6,100 cm3/min. (150 to 200 feet3/min), pressured air re-circulation and deflectors are crucial to get homogeneous temperatures. The furnace temperature must be
adjusted to the plastic forming temperature.
Infrared radiation heating, compared with oil immersion or contact heating (the two latter very limited in practice), is extremely rapid. For example, a 3.0 mm sheet heating
time by infrared radiation can be achieved in one min. at about 10 watts/inch2.
Because infrared radiation heating takes very little time, heat energy absorbed by a
sheet may cause over-heating, that may even affect the degrading of the material
(bubbles or burning) if it is not controlled. It is important to consider that in long runs,
the furnace temperature has to be gradually reduced.
In some cases, when the product has intricate or very deep sections, there is the risk
of the thickness of the material considerably thinning; in this case screens must be
used (they may be made of perforated plate or metallic display) to prevent over-heating.
The elements of infrared radiation can be obtained in a very wide range of designs,
according to their importance they are:
1.- Tungsten filaments in quartz tubes or lamps, temperature 3992 F (2,200 C).
2.- Spring- like nichrome resistor on refractory ceramic bases.
3.- Nichrome resistors protected by plate or stainless steel tubes.
There are manufacturers who make infrared radiation thermoforming machines in a
wide variety of sizes, capacity, degree of automation and versatility.
The specifications to acquire a thermoforming machine vary depending on the finished
product that you want to get and therefore, it is necessary to consider:
Voltage, wattage, amperage, useful area of forming, number of heaters (lower and
upper), controls to regulate temperatures by zones, degree of automation, capacity to

17

Thermoforming

accept mechanical support, type of sheet fastening device, (clamps, mechanical,

pneumatic, etc.), ventilators to cool the product, general dimensions, production
capacity, cost- profit.
Gas furnaces
with pressured
air circulation

This kind of furnace supplies uniform heat and constant temperature, with a minimum
risk of over-heating an acrylic sheet. Electric ventilators must be used to force hot air
circulation on the acrylic sheet at a speed about 4,500 to 6,100 cm3/min., and
devices to distribute the air in every zone of the furnace.
Gas furnaces need heat inter-changers to prevent accumulation of soot due to the
gas flow, as well as controls to interrupt the gas flow, when necessary.
Electric furnaces can be heated, using sets of 1000 watts resistors. When using a furnace with a 10 m3 capacity, about 25,000 power watts will be consumed and half of
this will be used to compensate heat loss due to leakage, insulating transmission and
the use of doors. A minimum 2" thick insulation is advised and the doors of the furnace should be as narrow as possible, to reduce most of the temperature loss.
Automatic devices must be used to strictly control temperature between 32 F and
482 F (0 C and 250 C). To get a more uniform sheet heating, it is important to hang
it vertically, and this can be done with a system that fastens the material all along with
clamps or canals with springs which move on wheels that slide on rails, like the ones
used for closets.
Basic criteria to construct a gas furnace with pressured air circulation.
The best advice in this case, is asking any industrial furnace manufacturer to build
one with the mentioned characteristics, since the construction of one, specially the
heating and operation systems, is very risky for anybody who has only little knowledge on the subject.
This kind of equipment must be approved by specialists in gas installations, it also
has to be registered before the corresponding authorities.
It is also relevant to point out that the information provided here, is only related to the
metallic structure and fastening system for acrylic sheets. A furnace construction can
be divided into the following sub-systems:
A) Structure
B) Fastening acrylic sheet
C) Electric system
D) Gas installation
E) Controls

18

Thermoforming

Recommendations to build a furnace

Building the structure with commercial iron tubular of 11/2" X 11/2" or 2 X 2".
a) Cut it according to the measurements and requirements of design.
b) Weld the lateral walls.
c) Weld the upper wall, the lower one and the back one; to join them with the lateral ones,
and build the whole structure.
d) Line the inner part of the structure with a black plate cal. 18 and weld it or rivet it with
"pop".
e) Cover the holes (thickness of the tubular) with a rigid sheet of glass fiber to get thermal insulation, code RF-4100, or a similar one.
f) Line the exterior with a black plate cal. 18 and rivet it with "pop" or weld it.
g) Make the doors with a structure of tubular PTR 1" X 1", and follow the same instructions as for the walls, they should be shorter to leave room for the rails.
h) Attach the doors to the furnace with hinges.
i) Put the closet-type rails, they should be twice as long as the furnace. They are fixed
with screws on the upper part of the furnace. Once they are fixed to the furnace and
the furnace on its place where it will operate, using bearings fasten the rails to the ceiling or structure of the place.

GAS STRUCTURE WITH AIR

RE-CIRCULATION
Rectangular tubular profile
of 11/2 X 11/2 2 X 2

The electric ventilator is

placed in this section to
force the air

Every joint must be welded

with electric welding
Closet-type rails
Plate "U" bearings of 1/4

19

Thermoforming

FASTENING SYSTEM FOR ACRYLIC SHEETS

1/4 iron plate
5/16" Cold rolled bar

Iron hinge
Spring

1/4 crossbar
handle

Washer

Nut

Type C profile cal.# 18

Acrylic sheet

FURNACE FRONT VIEW AND DOOR DETAIL AND RAILING SYSTEM

Steel cable to fix it to

the ceiling of the place.

1/2

x 11/2 iron angle

1 3/4 x 2 (1500 rail)

closet- type profile
No. 50 wheels
Furnace door

Hook formed 1/2"

cold-rolled bar.
1/2 cold rolled bar.

Joint of the fastening

system for acrylic
sheets.

20

Thermoforming

LATERAL VIEW AND DETAIL OF THE FURNACE DOOR AND RAILING SYSTEM
Steel cable to fix it to the
ceiling of the place
1 1/2 x 1
iron angle

1/2

1 3/4 x 2 (riel 1500)

closet -type profile

No. 50 wheel

2 1/2 x 2 1/2
iron angle
Furnace door

Infrared
heating
furnace

21

It is normally used in automatic thermoforming machines, heating a sheet by means of

radiation at a speed 3 to 10 times faster than in a pressured air circulation furnace,
thus, with very short heating cycles. It should be noted that the ratio temperature/time
becomes critical and it is harder to heat the material uniformly.

Thermoforming

Infrared energy is absorbed by the acrylic surface exposed, rapidly reaching temperatures over 356 F (180 C), that later on, is transmitted to the center of the material due
to temperature conduction.
Infrared radiation heating can be obtained using tubular metal elements, spring electric resistors, or by grouping infrared light lamps. To get a more uniform heating distribution, a net or metallic mesh can be placed among the heating elements and the
material which can work to expand the temperature. It is also convenient to place an
infrared heating plate, about 12from the material and 20 from the bottom plate.
To regulate energy input into the equipment, we recommend using devices such
as different transformers or percentage
meters that will help to control temperature. Planning electric energy charges and
great capacity equipment is also advisable, an electric sub-station will also be
needed.

Lineal heating
electric
resistors

An electric resistor can only be used to make bends in a straight line; to achieve this,
you also need a spring type electric resistor (20) or armored type (about 1KW X 1.2 m.).
Lineal resistors are made of wire, inside Pyrex ceramic tubes. The material must not be
in contact with the tube to avoid marks on the surface. A distance of 6 mm. from the
tube to the material is recommended to get uniform heating on thin material.
When more than 3.0 mm thick material is going to be heated with this procedure, the
resistors should be placed on both sides of it. In the next picture, it is shown how an
asbestos plate bender at the beginning of production will provide a suitable bend, but
as production advances, the heating area expands making a bigger radius bend, that
is why a resistor with water re-circulation is much better for acrylic bending.

22

Thermoforming

Acrylic Sheet

Heating zone

Asbestos
plate

Electric resistor

Acrylic Sheet

Heating zone

Asbesto
s plate

Electric resistor

Basic criteria to build a lineal heating electric resistor.

Bi-dimensional thermoforming or lineal bending, can be made with a spring type resistor or a tubular one. Building these equipments is conditioned to thickness, kind of
bending and volume to be produced. Generally, a 1.32 yd. long resistor is the most
common, though a 24 one is also acceptable, the specifications for this resistor are
1Kw for each 1.32 yd., thus, with a rule of three consume can be deduced both for a
longer or a shorter resistor.
Acrylic benders are more common than the ones built with asbestos plates on the lateral walls, these are suitable as long as you do not have to produce a huge volume,
since when asbestos plates are exposed to the same infrared radiation they tend to get
hot and therefore, the heating area will expand changing a piece production standard.
In other words, at the beginning of production, there will be small radiuses and as
production advances, the heating area will be wider creating a bigger radius.
An electric resistor bender with water re-circulation will be more effective and produce
better quality bent pieces. This equipment needs tubular profiles that allow water recirculation, which will keep the surface cool and will only allow a heating zone. The
required materials to build this kind of bender are listed below.
It is important to include a rheostat to control temperature intensity on an acrylic sheet,
since it will provide the suitable pace of production and, obviously, it will reduce costs
of electric energy.

23

Thermoforming

ASBESTOS PLATE FOLDER

Spring-like, tubular or nichrome tape resistor
No. 16 or 18 cable with glass fiber insulator
Terminals.
2 X 14 Heavy duty cable
Plug
500, 1000, 2000 or 3000 watts dimmer
1/8", 3/16" o 1/4" asbestos plate

24

Thermoforming

WATER RE-CIRCULATION FOLDER

Spring-like, tubular or nichrome tape resistor
No. 16 or 18 cable with glass fiber insulator
Terminals
2 X 14 Heavy duty cable
Plug
500, 1000, 2000 or 3000 watts dimmer
3/4" x, 3/4" aluminum tubular profile
6.6 yd. hose
Clamps
10 to 20 lt. container
Garden water pump

Complementary equipment: vacuum, pressured

air and mechanical forces
The thermoforming process consists in heating and softening a sheet of any kind of
thermoplastic material and making it adopt the form of the corresponding mold to get
an almost finished product with a particular form.
Some times, an external force has to be used to turn a flat sheet into a different form
and to make it copy the outline and details of the mold. The level of energy or use of
this force must be adjusted, so that the plastic sheet can be easily forced to take
another form.
The most common used forming forces in the thermoforming process are: vacuum or
pressured air, mechanical forces and the combination of these three. Choosing a forming force in the forming process generally depends on the size of the product, the volume to be produced and the speed of the forming cycles.
In addition, the following factors must be considered, since any of these can make a
difference in selecting the forming force:
a) Intrinsic limitations of each thermoplastic material
b) Construction and material of the mold
c) Thermoforming equipment available
Vacuum
forming

The oldest method to form a plastic sheet into a utilitarian piece is vacuum forming. The
original description of the thermoforming process was precisely "vacuum-forming".
The basic principle of the vacuum-forming process is having a softened thermoplastic
sheet in a mold perfectly sealed and where the air inside is evacuated by the vacuum
force or suction. As the air is evacuated from the mold, it creates a negative pressure
on the surface of the sheet and therefore,
natural atmospheric pressure yields, forcing the hot sheet to take the place of the
empty spaces, as it can be seen in the
picture.
Acrylic
sheet

25

Thermoforming

Vacuum equipment
There is a great variety of vacuum pumps: reciprocal piston, diaphragm, blades, eccentric rotor, etc. All these provide a good vacuum but cannot evacuate great volumes of
air at high speed; that is why a stock tank has to be connected to be used as "vacuum accumulator". On the other hand, there are compressors that can evacuate a great
volume of air but are limited for vacuum force.
A suitable vacuum system needs a pump that can displace from 28 to 29" Hg or from
0.5 to absolute 1 Psi (710 to 735 mm of Hg.) in the stock tank before the forming cycle.
The line, duct or pipe between the stock tank and the mold should be as short as possible with a minimum of angles. It is important to eliminate air leaking due to damaged
piping, perforated hoses, loose couples or nipples, as well as unnecessary valves.
Rapid action or globe valves should be used. Vacuum pumps are available in one or
two steps. A two step vacuum pump can evacuate pressures below 10 Psi; displacement capacity or evacuation for a one step pump is reduced by half. Table 11 shows
vacuum pumps typical capacities

Table 11: Vacuum pump typical specifications

SPECIFICATIONS
No. OF
CYLINDERS
1
2
2
2
2
3

DIAMETER
(inches)
3.04
3.04
4.08
5.08
5.6
5.6

VACUUM THEORETICAL CAPACITY

RUN
(inches)
2.8
2.8
2.8
3.2
4.08
4.08

ONE STEP TWO STEPS

(yd3/min)
(yd3/min)
0.280
0.561
0.996
1.87
3.08
4.64

---0.280
0.498
0.935
1.54
3.08

SPEED

POWER

DIAMETER

(RPM)

NEEDED

OF PIPING

(Kw)

OUTLET

0.56
0.74
1.48
2.2/3.7
3.7
5.6

19
25
32
38
52
52

800
800
800
750
900
900

Vacuum tanks
Excepting some vacuum equipments, most have a stock tank. Bearing in mind that
work pressure is about 10 Psi (about 21 inches Hg/530 mm. Hg) vacuum, then the volume of the tank should be 2.5 times bigger than the volume between the molds, the
vacuum box and the piping. Doubling the volume of the stock tank (along with other
similar conditions) pressure can be increased 15% (11.5 Psi), according to what is
established, the theoretical limit for the vacuum forming process is only 14.5 Psi.

26

Thermoforming

In many cases, a rapid displacement of vacuum is very important. This can only be
made by placing the vacuum tank as near the mold as possible and reducing the piping friction as much as possible, which can be done by:
a) A bigger piping diameter.
b) Piping with wide curves, avoiding 90 angles.
c) Changes in the transversal section of the piping (diameter changes).
Many equipments in the market do not meet these requirements. In general, the piping
must be 1" diameter to displace 1 ft3 of air, for big pieces a 2" or 3" diameter is suitable. There should also be a flexible plastic hose internally reinforced with wire or a
similar material that prevents it form collapsing; it should be connected between the
mold and the piping, as shown in the picture.

Stock tank (400 lt.)

2 flexible hose

Bearings

globe valve

Solenoid valve

Air deflector

Vacuum forces, applications.

In general, pumps work constantly to keep vacuum in the stock tank, there is a variation on the vacuum-meter readings in each cycle. The vacuum generated on the
formed part must be kept enough time to cool and stand the internal force of the material which will tend to keep the original form, causing waves and bending.
As a general rule, the faster the vacuum is made the better the piece will be formed.
Occasionally, slow forming speed for deep forming pieces or intricate sections is recommended. When the matrix is very deep and when the configuration is problematic,
slow vacuum can allow plastic more time to contract in the transversal section, this
way a deficient configuration can be avoided.
27

Thermoforming

Pressured air
forming.

In operations where vacuum force is replaced by pressured air, it should be considered

that it is harder to seal the mold satisfactorily. The forming force can easily multiply up
to 10 times if the pressured air is at 100 Psi. However, the molds can stand such pressure very few times.
To form by using pressured air, it is necessary to take as many precautions as possible. A regular size mold requires a closing pressure of some tons, which obviously a
common vise (type "C") cannot stand. Then, various clamps or rapid action fasteners,
which are very useful in this case, should be used. With the pressure exerted, a badly
built mold may explode like a bomb. An aluminum or machine finished metal mold is a
good choice; resin or wooden molds must not be used unless they are reinforced with
metal.
Pressure forming equipment must be stronger than the vacuum forming one. It must
have a similar tank for the compressor as well. Piping does not need strict specifications since pressure drop is not considerable. If in a piping pressure drops 5 Psi, pressure loss in the system will be 10 Psi, 50% of the pressure. But if the pressure system
is 100 Psi, it will be 5%. A valve to reduce pressure and a manometer should be also
installed, as well as a baffle or filter at the entrance of the mold, so that cold air is never
in direct contact with a hot sheet. Some times, heaters should be incorporated to the
air system, since they will help in great blows, which must be kept hot until a piece is
formed on the mold.
If possible, there should also be filters to eliminate water that tends to condense in the
system and in the long run can make the equipment rusty, in addition, combined with
air particles, it can block air ventilation orifices in the molds. Periodical maintenance is
a must.
Vacuum

Acrylic
Mold

Pressured air

Vacuum orifices
Acrylic
Mold
Air exhaust

28

Thermoforming

When needed, the mold should have orifices to eliminate the air caught inside
and avoid wrinkles or deficient forming.
Pressured air forming has become popular, specially for small pieces. The advantages of this method are: improvement
on dimensional tolerance, forming speed
can be considerably increased and fine
details are better defined.

Mechanical
forming

The thermoforming process is not limited

to pneumatic techniques. There are several mechanical forces that can be
applied. The simplest form of mechanical
forming is used for bi-dimensional forming. In this case, a heated sheet is placed
on the surface of a curved mold which is
usually a smooth surface and gravity is
enough to curve the sheet; the edge of
the sheet should be fastened to keep it in
position until it cools. That is the case for
the manufacturing of the cannon arch whose sides are tightly fastened and there is not
thickness variation.
Mechanical forming, matrix and male mold.
Matrix-male molding is used, among other things, to shape complicated pieces. In this
molding technique, a heated sheet is shaped between 2 opposing but similarly outlined
molds (matrix-male). When the molds are joined, the outlines force the sheet to take
the same shape, in the space left between the two molds. Any protuberance on the
male mold, mechanically, will force the plastic into the counterpart (matrix). For big or
medium production, mechanical equipment is used to close the molds; in other cases,
the movement is created by servomotors. If both molds have a controlled temperature,
cooling time can be reduced.
There are three basic criteria to achieve good thermo-shaping performance when using
this technique.
The first, is applied force, regardless of its source (pneumatic, hydraulic or mechanical), it must be strong enough to make plastic deform, of course, a huge surface or an
intricate mold will need a bigger pressure force.
The second refers to suitable elimination of the air caught inside. The pressure exerted between the two molds causes that air gets caught between them and the sheet,
and air must be removed to shape the piece well. Boring some holes in one or the two
molds in the areas where this anomaly is spotted, can eliminate the air.
The third is related to the depth limit of stretching, that derives from the forces used in
the process. It can be easily understood that maximum stretching is only successful
when the mold has exit angles bigger than 5 and very big and smooth curve radiuses, the angles close to 90 may diminish stretching and even tear the plastic material.
This sophisticated thermo-shaping method should not be used on the whole mold, its
use is limited to only some parts of the mold.

29

Thermoforming

Combined
techniques

Mechanically forming with matrix-male molds does not only depend on the forces
used, usually, this kind of forming can be combined with vacuum, pressured air or both
at the same time. Therefore, the matrix-male mold does not have to coincide accurately, the male mold may be relatively inferior in dimensions and have a substantially
different form from the matrix.
When male molds are made like this, they can act as "pushers" of a plastic sheet. This
kind of support is called mechanical support, because it presses the softened material into the matrix. The purpose of this support is to stretch the material so that the final
form is accomplished in combination of vacuum and/or pressured air.
Using mechanical support in the process has the advantage of a better distribution of
the thickness of a product, than using any other process. Many variations in the
process can be obtained combining these techniques. Those variations can be vacuum pressure changes, vacuum or pressure application time, mold closing speed time
or forming cycles.

Mechanical
support
design

Usually, mechanical supports are made of wood. Hard or tropical wood is the most
used to make supports. In some cases, pieces of other plastic material such as: nylon,
rigid polyurethane, acrylic, aluminum or steel, which are easily machine finished, can
be incorporated.
If production volume requires it, a cooling and/or heating system can be incorporated.
The decision to heat or cool the support, must be made from the beginning of the
design, since later on it will be harder if not impossible to try to adapt a heating element, that is why required machine finishing should be made to incorporate the system.
When a support is very cold, a sheet will surely get cold on it. Cooling usually takes
place between the points of a support and a sheet and the sheet and the mold. In
extreme cases, the sheet may shrink on the support during the forming.
The form of a support has a determining
influence on the wall or thickness of a finished piece. In the next picture, there are
three different kinds of support.

30

Thermoforming

Flat surfaced and blunt edged support

This allows a sheet to stretch between the support and the edge of the mold, and
meanwhile, the part of the sheet in contact with the edge of the support gets cool. A
piece formed this way will have a thick bottom and thin walls
Tin-like support
In this second alternative, a sheet is in contact with the support and cools fast only on
the perimeter of the support. Stretching is similar to that of the flat support, but the
central area of the support allows extra stretching.
Sphere-like support
On the other hand, in this case, only a small area is in contact with the support. There
might be a significant stretching as the support moves forward, therefore, the area of
the perimeter between the edge and the support decreases.

Flat surfaced and blunt

edged support

31

Thermoforming

Tin-like support

Sphere-like support

Thermoforming molds
Choosing
the type of
thermoforming
technique

One of the most important aspects to be taken into consideration in thermoforming

pieces is the thermoforming technique to be used. Depending on the characteristics of
the product if the wrong technique is used, there may be problems before you can get
a piece with the specifications initially determined, finished. And many times the operation will fail, with the consequence of a waste of time, money and resources. Thus,
before manufacturing a mold, the following should be considered:
1.- Form and dimensions of the piece.
2.- Desired aspect.
3.- Thermoforming technique.
Based on these factors, you can plan and anticipate possible defects in the pieces. In
this chapter all the variables that emerge when a thermoforming mold has to be manufactured, are analyzed.

Criteria to
design
thermoformed
products

It must be mentioned that: products made using thermoforming technique, though this
technique is versatile and flexible, regarding aspect and characteristics, differ from
products manufactured using injection molding. In the following comparative table the
basic differences can be analyzed. To conclude, to design thermoformed pieces the
following criteria must be established:
1. - Thinning of material should be considered, this mostly depends on form, size and
technique used (chapter 8). Generally, thinning of material is directly proportional
to the height of a piece.
2.- A 3 and 5 exit angle of the mold should be considered.
3. - It must be taken into consideration that a piece will contract 0.6 to 1% when it cools.
4. - In general, the surface of a thermoformed piece will be smooth, though some textures can be obtained.
5.- In designing a piece, big radiuses should be included; there may be edges but they
can tear the material.

32

Thermoforming

Table 12 Basic differences between Injection and thermo-shaping processes.

VARIABLES
Thickness
Mold exit angles
Molding temperature
Dimensional tolerance
Inserts
Surface finishing
Production
Mold

May create ribbings, all types of

holes, coils, etc.
Scrap, material waste
Radius

Time to make a piece (design,

mold, tests).
Subsequent treatment and
finishing

33

Thermoforming

PROCESO
INJECTIN

TERMOFORMING

Constant
0.5 to 1
392F-464F (200C 240C)
Excellent
Possible insertion of elements in
other materials.
Smooth surfaces or any other
texture can be obtained.
High production, hundreds or
thousands of pieces a day.
Steel with alloys or expensive
treatment, complex design,
matrix-male mold.
Yes.

Variable
3 - 5
320F-356F (160C 180C)
Relatively good, not for accuracy.
Mold surface can be prepared
for inserts
Only smooth surfaces, some
shallow textures
Medium, some dozens a day.

Very little, recoverable.

From 3 to 6 months.

Depends on the shape, about

25% waste and recoverable.
Larger radiuses, 0.4 to 2 needed. Depending on shape and
depth.
Maximum 1 month.

Any treatment or finishing, painting, hot-stamping, serigraphy,

metallization, etc.

Any treatment or finishing, painting, hot-stamping, serigraphy,

metallization, etc.

Must blunt edges, about 1.5

thickness of material.

Variety of materials, rather low

cost, simple design, may use
matrix-male mold.
No.

Criteria to
design
thermoforming
molds

The following criteria are key factors to successfully produce thermoformed pieces.
They are the core of any development, but it is also vital to thoroughly analyze these
concepts and later we will see in detail each consideration in the design of molds.
Then, these basic criteria and considerations will be the fundamental parameters to
manufacture thermoforming molds, regardless of their complexity. It should be noted
that when these molds are manufactured, the following concepts must be assessed.
1. - Form and dimensions of the piece.
2.- Aspect of the piece.
3.- Estimated production volume.
Probably the most important of these concepts is the estimated production volume,
since it will depend on the definition of the kind of mold, material, finishing, thermoforming technique, etc. Next, the model designs are shown:
1. - A male mold is easier to use, less
expensive and more suitable to form
deep pieces. In general, a matrix should
not be used to form pieces deeper than
half the width of the piece. The matrix is
used when the concave face of the finished piece must not be in contact with
the mold.
2.- The molds must have enough vacuum
orifices so that an annealed sheet can
conform to the critical parts of the mold,
the vacuum orifices have to be made in
the deepest parts and areas where air is
caught, and must be small enough not to
leave marks (1/32" to 1/8" diameter).
Vacuum can be more effective if the hole
is enlarged from the inside.
3.- There must be ducts that allow water
or oil circulation through the mold when
temperature control in it is needed.

34

Thermoforming

4. - When the dimensions of a formed

piece are critical, molds must be built bigger to compensate for the contraction of
the material.
Expected contraction from molding temperature to environment temperature is
1% maximum.

5.-A slight curving of the flat big areas of

the mold will allow flat areas when the
material cools.

6. - Pieces with 90 walls cannot be

obtained; the mold must have an exit
angle of at least 3.

7. - Edges should be blunt, since vertex

form accumulates internal efforts. A piece
will be more resistant designing blunt
edges and corners.

8.- The thin or weak parts can be reinforced with reinforcement ribs, which will
also reinforce big flat areas.

35

Thermoforming

30

9.- If it is necessary to mold using a permanent incrustation, you should consider: the difference between the expansion
coefficient and the various materials, otherwise, there can be a failure due to a
forced insert, because of different expansions and contractions of the materials in
contact.
10.- The surface of the molds can be lined
with cotton flannel, felt, velvet, suede, etc,
to diminish mold marks. The most common is cotton flannel.

Considerations
in the design of
thermoforming
molds

One of the advantages of the thermoforming process is the diversity and kinds of
molds that can be made at a very low cost and relatively fast, being highly accepted
for other applications, over other processes.
Usually and unlike injection molds, only half the mold is needed and it depends on the
form of the product, desired aspect and chosen technique (may be male mold or
matrix).
Choosing the right one is much more important when the part to be thermoformed is
very deep. When the pieces are shallow, profiles are small or when thinning is irrelevant, choosing will depend on the aspect of the piece. If details of the mold are important, then the side of a plastic sheet in contact with the mold surface should be the
front of the piece.
Some times, a bigger radius or smooth aspect is desirable if a sheet of material shows
a nice surface, then the surface which does not touch the mold will be the front of the
piece, besides, a dimensional control closer to the surface of the mold can be
obtained.
Thinning of the material
Under every condition of thermoforming when pieces are formed of a plastic sheet, the
area of the surface will get bigger, there will be some stretching and the material will
get thinner.

One of the decisive factors of this thinning is the ratio, generally defined as maximum
depth or height ratio with a minimum space through the opening. To estimate this thinning, the area of the available sheet to be thermoformed must be determined and divided into the area of the finished piece, including waste. It is always desirable that the

36

Thermoforming

molds and thermoformed pieces have generous curving radiuses. Theoretically, there
is a formula to determine the thinning percentage of the material, considering that the
material is uniformly annealed and stretched.

Thinning % =

Final thickness of the material

Original thickness of material

available area of a sheet

total area of shaped piece

AXB
A X B X E (2C + 2D)

A=3
B=4
C=2
D=1
E=1

A=3
B=4
C=2
D=1
E=1

In practice, with a micrometer or calibrator you can determine thickness directly on the
thermoformed piece, cutting small pieces on different sections. Other methods use
translucent sheets and correlate color intensity vs. thinning of the sheet. Thickness can
also be determined making squares with an oil marker on the sheet before thermoforming it and observing stretching of the material.
One should consider the possibility of
wrinkling on some critical areas or on the
bottom of a male mold or matrix. If an
annealed sheet cannot contract from the
dimension A to E, excess material will create wrinkles.

In a matrix the opposite happens, the

sheet will expand to the 4 vertexes of the
mold surface, becoming very thin. This
can be seen in most of the thermoformed
tubs.

37

Thermoforming

Next, some techniques to prevent wrinkling are shown:

When low molding temperature is used, a sheet will keep a greater tenacity and elasticity. For big pieces, molding time and temperature should be increased on difficult
zones to be thermoformed, minimizing this kind of defect. For deep molding sheets,
because of their partially cross-linked structure, they tend to minimize wrinkling. When
there are many molds, there should be enough room to prevent wrinkling, a distance
1.75 times the height of a piece, is suitable.
Dimensional shrinking and tolerance.
Dimensional shrinkage and tolerance in thermoforming vary for pieces formed on
matrix or male mold. On a male mold, shrinkage can be reduced if the piece cools most
of the time on the mold. If cooling reaches environmental temperature on the mold,
shrinkage will be minimum. Thus, the internal dimension of the piece will be very close
to the one of the mold, but then a production cycle will not be productive.
However, the fact is that a piece must be removed from the male mold when it is still
hot, otherwise removal will be difficult. This is exactly thermal shrinkage, which is the
proportional difference between the environmental temperature and the one at the time
of removal. Thus, to keep the specified dimension of a piece, the model must be slightly bigger.
On the other hand, a piece formed in a matrix will begin shrinking as soon as the temperature of the material is below the one of forming. To keep a close continuous tolerance, the mold dimension must be considerably increased and vacuum pressure kept
during the whole operation.

38

Thermoforming

As a guideline it can be assumed that shrinkage on male molds it is .127 mm/mm

(0.005 in/in) and in a matrix it is bigger. For acrylic, polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyester and oriented polystyrene .203 mm/mm (0.008 in/in) can be considered. Anyway,
one should be cautious about these values, since the following conditions can significantly alter them.
1.-Mold temperature: a difference of 15F (10C) can change shrinkage over 0.001
in/in. (0254 mm/mm).
2.- Size and thickness: this refers to the exit angle limited by the mold and the effect
of greater thickness regarding temperature profile.
3. - Final use temperature: Due to expansion and contraction proportional to lineal
expansion coefficient, a thermoformed piece will keep on varying with environmental temperature changes.
4.- Use extreme conditions: Shrinking can reach top values after the first exposition to
the highest temperature of use.
5.- Molecular orientation: There might be bigger shrinkage related to the molecular orientation of the material.
Some times, to prevent distortion and shrinkage, cooling templates are needed until a
piece reaches the environmental temperature. Further more, the pieces thermoformed
at a temperature below the one specified, tend to go back to their original state due to
the plastic memory of the material. It is advised to monitor shrinkage and deformation
during production.
Aspect of the mold.
It must be clarified that the surfaces obtained by injection and extrusion processes
cannot be reproduced by conventional thermoforming techniques. Even highly brilliant
materials may lose their glow during the process. In addition, they tend to emphasize
mark and waving when they touch a cold mold and undergo thickness changes. A
change of thickness will cause small distortions. Thus, cleaning the working area is a
must. All the outlines should be rounded, actually, a mold with big radiuses will benefit the thermoforming operation, since the material will tend to stretch better

NO

39

Thermoforming

YES

If you want a sheet to copy details of a mold, like non-skid textures or similar ones,
those detail should be at least three times bigger than the thickness of the material.
Actually, it is better to have a not so smooth molding surface, this way, the piece will
not copy the mistakes of the mold. It may even be sand-blasted with glass fiber micro
spheres or an abrasive material. This way you can eliminate the air caught between the
mold and the piece. Some times it is a good idea to sand the surface using rough
sandpaper, this helps at the time of removal, to break the vacuum between the mold
and the piece.

Superficie lisa, bien pulida

Superficie spera

Vacuum bores
When using thermoforming techniques with vacuum or pressured air, it is very important to eliminate most of the air between a mold and a sheet in a minimum of time.
Depending on the kind of mold, 1/2" or 1" orifices can be used, as in the case of thermoformed skylights, up to homogenous distribution in all the vertexes of the mold.
Metallic frame

Acrylic

Base
1/2 or 1 piping

These pictures show the distribution of

the vacuum pressured air bores, typical
for pressure-free forming molds, male
mold and matrix
In general, the diameter of vacuum bores should be slightly smaller than the thickness
of the material. As a starting point, the vacuum bores will have a diameter equivalent
to the final thickness of a thermoformed piece. This rule does not apply when the
material is very thin or very thick, or when the marks of these orifices are irrelevant. It
can be considered that a suitable range is from 1/32" to 1/8" diameter. To eliminate a
40

Thermoforming

great volume of air, 1/8" or _" diameter holes can be drilled. Depending on the manufacture of the mold, the bores can be widened on the inside of the mold, as shown in
the picture. To reduce the time to eliminate the volume of air round a softened sheet
and a vacuum box, the space can be refilled with polystyrene foam balls or
polyurethane pieces.

Widened bores on
the inside

Increased diameter
bore

Another function of a mold is to contribute along with a frame to stabilize the position
of a sheet and provide good sealing all around the mold. In some cases, a canal
around the piece is helpful, exactly on the external zone of the cutting line.
Mold cooling
Some times when production runs are very long, the mold should have a cooling system, generally copper piping is used. It should be placed adequately and have enough
capacity to carry a considerable volume of water or refrigerant. A relationship between
the temperature of the sheet and the mold should be established so that the material
does not get too cold and it does not thermoform below the bottom limit of the molding temperature.
There are different methods to cool a mold, for example, when there are critical molding zones, plastic or poly-tetra-fluorine-ethylene inserts can be incorporated. In some
cases, a plastic covering can be applied to reduce thermal conductivity, or even after
thermoforming, pressured air can be injected through the bores or holes. Three cooling systems are shown in the next picture: First an undulated cooling system, the second is a branch system and the third is an external multiple alternative flow branch
system with 2 inputs and 2 outputs.
Branch system

Undulated
system

41

Thermoforming

External multiple
alternative flow
branch

Mold supports
As it has been mentioned before, when thermoforming a piece the material always gets
thinner. Molding supports are used to get a better distribution of material in a thermoformed piece. Their purpose is to stretch a softened sheet, as a pre-forming. This technique is very important, specially with very deep pieces. In general terms, the molding
supports can be made of the same material as molds. There are three categories of
mold supports:
Metallic supports
Usually they are made of iron or aluminum, must be very smooth, with radius on the
edges. The range of temperature is 10 to 15C (10F) below the temperature of the
material, if their temperature is too high the sheet will stick to them.
Thermal material supports
These are made of wood, plastic or metal and they are built under the principle of a
good thermal insulator. The surface may be of soft wood, plastics like nylon, or another thermofixed, synthetic foam or any other material including soft flannel.
Skeleton type support
Skeleton or frame type supports are only rounded bars welded forming intersections,
which should be totally rounded to avoid tearing the material.
Support dimensions are related to the size of a piece, since they have a great influence on the thickness distribution of the material. It must be noted that in some
cases, by only changing the depth penetration of a support (75% depth of the piece),
the thickness of the material between the faces and the surface can be controlled.
Therefore, the equipment must have the required depth adjustment capacity, penetration power and speed.
Materials used
to manufacture
thermoforming
molds

Materials used.
Unlike other plastic molding processes, such as injection or compression, thermoforming has the advantage of using relatively low pressure and temperature. That is
why a great variety of materials can be used. Usually, wooden molds can be used, they
are ideal for low production and as wood has a low thermal conductivity, it helps the
annealed sheet not to cool quickly at first contact, but these molds are not good for
medium or high production. Manufacturing molds with phenol laminates are better
because they are not seriously affected by heat or humidity.
There are also molds made of mineral or metallic charges and polyester or epoxy or
rigid polyurethane resins. These are easy to remove off a mold and may even have a
mold with multiple cavities. The thermal properties of epoxy and polyester resins make
them suitable for medium production. Copper piping can be used as cooling system to
better control the mold temperature, but even then, it is not enough for high production.

42

Thermoforming

Aluminum molds are the best for high production, but because of the thermal conductivity of aluminum, the mold has to be pre-heated by means of circulating hot water
through the cooling/heating system or radiating heat with electric resistors, or even
heating the mold with the same material to be thermoformed. For long runs, a thermostat has to be incorporated, to ensure there is the least temperature fluctuation on the
surface of the mold, thus, preventing over cooling. Applying poly-tetra-fluorine-ethylene to aluminum can improve its properties.
Summarizing, there are 4 groups to manufacture thermoforming molds:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Wood.
Minerals.
Plastic resins.
Metals.

Table 13. Use of materials for thermoforming molds

GROUP
Woods

43

Thermoforming

MATERIALS
USED

PRODUCTION
VOLUME

Pine
Mahogany
Cedar
Maple
Triply
Agglomerated

Low

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

These are low cost molds, their time of
manufacturing is short and they have
good surface finishing, though in some
cases the grain of the wood leaves
marks. Wood should be seasoned, for
better finishing and preventing dimensional changes due to humidity, molds
must be sealed with casein, phenolvarnish or epoxy resin diluted in methylethyl ketone. For better finishing the
grain of the wood must be parallel to
the length of the mold. Triply or agglomerated molds last longer, which can be
prolonged by reinforcing the intersections with metal.

MATERIALS
USED

PRODUCTION
VOLUME

Cast
(Calcium
Carbonate)
Sodium
Fluoric-silicate

Low
Medium

Cast Molds are more durable than wooden

ones and can be cast of a composite of low
shrinking cast, highly resistant and interiorly
reinforced with metallic mesh, glass fiber or
materials that do not absorb humidity. Cast on
the molding is left to cure 5 to 7 days at environmental temperature. If surface is good it
does not need finishing. Polyester, epoxy or
phenol resin coverings provide more resistant
surface. Care must be taken not to chip cast
when making vacuum holes, which may be
eliminated if pieces of wire are inserted previously and removed after hardening.

Plastic resins

Polyester
Epoxy
Phenol
Plastic
laminated
Nylon

Medium

Plastic resin molds are more expensive and

elaborated than cast or wooden ones but more
durable, smoother surfaces and dimensional
stability. These resins can be charged with aluminum powder which provides a more homogeneous temperature of the mold or with
kaolin, glass fiber etc. A vacuum system can
be incorporated to these molds, fitting a cardboard pipe at the back of the mold.

Metallic

Aluminum
Berylliumcopper
Iron

High

They are ideal for big production runs, high

pressure or metallic forming. Aluminum,
bronze, or any other low point fusion alloy
founding molds can be used, and also
machine finished steel, brass or bronze. They
are the must expensive, making them takes a
long time, have better surface finishing, maintenance low cost and better dimensional stability. Cooling system must be used, and avoid
rapid cooling of the piece.

GROUP
Minerals

44

Thermoforming

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Recommendations for thermoforming molds

1. For wooden molds, the best remover is baby powder or flour.
2. For metallic or plastic resin molds, removing waxes are recommended.
3. Soft wood must not be used with very sensitive materials such as polystyrene,
foamed or acrylic P.V.C., since they get marked because of the grain of the wood.
4. For long production runs, wood must not be used since slow cooling makes the
mold expand, creating separations on the joints.
5. For plastic resin or metallic molds, aerosol removers can also be used.
6. For wash basins, tubs, or bath room modules, a porcelain-like glow can be achieved
sand-blasting the surface of the mold, roughness will achieve a finish with these
characteristics.
.

45

Thermoforming

Thermoforming techniques
Thermoforming is the simplest and most used process to form an acrylic sheet. Being
a thermoplastic material it softens and it is easy to handle and can take any form when
heated at suitable temperature and time.
As it cools it recovers its rigidity and keeps the form it was exposed to. The cost of
equipment and molds is relatively low and bi or tri-dimensional forms can be obtained
by means of a great variety of processes.
Bi-dimensional
thermoforming

This is a bending process that can be achieved through two methods:

Lineal heating bending.

A Chemcast acrylic sheet is heated on a lineal resistor, bending at the desired angle.
To bend, remove the protector paper of the bending line (the rest of the paper may be
left to protect the areas that are not to be worked on), then place the sheet on the supports with the bending line directly on the heating line, bending on the heated side.
Heating time varies according to the thickness of a sheet. To bend an acrylic sheet over
0.16 thick it should be heated on both sides to obtain a suitable bend. Heat the sheet
until it gets soft on the bending zone. Do not try to bend the sheet before it is well heated, this may cause irregular or creased corners.
Heat carefully, irregular heating may cause arching on the bending line. Some times
this is hard to avoid, specially on pieces over 24 long. Arching may be diminished fastening the recently formed material with some clamps or a template until it cools.
Templates can be made of wood, fixed or adjustable.

Acrylic

YES

No

With suitable heating,

clean shining corners
are obtained

46

Thermoforming

Top

Support with
adjustable hinge
at any angle

Butts

Electric resistor

Place the sheet on the

support with the folding line directly on the
heating line

Acrylic

Use fixed or
adjustable templates
to keep the piece at
the desired angle

Cold forming
Chemcast acrylics sheet can be cold formed on curved frames, as long as the radius
of the curve is 180 times bigger than the thickness of the material used.
Formula: R (radius) = 180 X T (Thickness of material in inches.)

R=180 X E

Threedimensional
thermoforming
(with molds).

The procedures for tri-dimensional forming in general, require using vacuum, pressured
air, mechanical equipment, or a combination of these to mold Chemcast acrylic sheets
to a desired form. These techniques are described next:

Acrylic

Free or gravity shaping

This method is the simplest of all,
because once the material is softened,
the sheet is placed on the mold and the
material adopts the form by its own
weight. The edges of the material can be
fastened to the mold to avoid waves that
tend to occur when cooling.

Mold

Male mold
Frame

Matrix

47

Thermoforming

Mechanical forming with matrix and

male mold.
A Chemcast acrylic sheet can be formed
pressing the annealed material between
the male mold and the matrix, to produce
pieces of very accurate dimensions. This
procedure requires excellent finishing of
the molds to reduce their marks to a minimum.

Free, pressure or vacuum forming

The pieces that require optical clarity like
skylights, helicopter cabins, etc., can be
formed without mold, Chemcast acrylic
can be vacuum or pressured air formed.
The form of the finished piece is given by
the form and size of the ring that fixes it to
the frame and by the given height.
However, these forms are limited to
spherical outlines or bubbles freely
formed. Vacuum is better for this kind of
forming, or pressure if it is over 1 atmosphere.
Vacuum and pressure forming, matrix.
This procedure allows forming pieces, on
1 piece molds whose form requires more
accuracy than the ones vacuum formed.
However, high pressure leaves marks of
the mold on the piece. As high pressure is
required, the molds should be of metal,
epoxy resins or other materials that can
stand high pressure without deforming.
Good finishing of the molds is a must to
obtain quality pieces.
Pressure forming with the help of a piston and matrix
The technique of piston help is used to
reduce thinning at the bottom of the
formed pieces. The piston stretches the
material before pressure is applied. Piston
speed of 6.6 yd./min., is required, it may
damage the material at initial contact.
Forming pressure 6.16 pounds/in2

48

Thermoforming

Presin de aire

Vaco

Vaco

Vaco

Vacuum with return and male mold

forming.
This technique is useful to form pieces
that require uniform thickness on the
walls and fewer forming marks. An
annealed sheet is stretched in a vacuum
box until it reaches the necessary depth
for the mold; once it is inside it, vacuum
is freed gradually so that the acrylic
returns to its original form meeting it.
More defined forms can be obtained if at
the point of returning, vacuum is applied
to the male mold

Pressure forming with the help of a piston, matrix and vacuum.

This is the most sophisticated of all, since
it is a combination of almost all the others, it is generally used for very deep
thermoforming which requires more controlled thickness and when breaking is
possible because of excessive molding
depth.
Vaco

49

Thermoforming

Infrared
heating furnace
molding
techniques

50

In this section we will try to expand the techniques mentioned before. Although these
examples are designed for infrared heating equipments, it is possible to apply them to
the conventional molding systems.

Vacuum forming, matrix and mechanical support

Pressured air pre-stretching,

mechanical support and vacuum

Vacuum forming, matrix and mechanical support

Vacuum forming, matrix

Thermoforming

Free pressured air forming

Pressured air pre-stretching, matrix,

mechanical support and vacuum

Free pressured air forming

Pressured air stretching, mechanical

support and vacuum

Vacuum forming, matrix, mechanical

support and pressured air.

51

Thermoforming

Cooling thermoformed pieces

Cooling a thermoformed piece is as important as heating it, but in some cases, it takes
longer than heating. That is why it is important to choose the right method. Some
times, when very thick pieces that can stand less internal effort are formed, normal
cooling should be delayed, covering the piece with soft cloth or flannel. If the piece is
fastened with clamps, fastening force diminishes as cooling takes place and shrinkage
will show the great efforts of this process.
Most of the heat absorbed during the heating cycle should dissipate off the plastic
before it is removed off the mold, otherwise, the piece might get distorted and warped.
If the piece is formed on a male mold, it should be removed before shrinkage, which
will make it hard to remove.
Conventional
cooling
methods

Conduction and convection are practically the only methods to dissipate heat, since
thermal conductivity is low, pieces over 0.08 thick require long cooling. The most
common is using electric ventilators to cool the piece; this method has the advantage
of allowing cooling the piece on the mold. The disadvantage is that the air draft is not
enough to cool the mold in each cycle, and the mold will be too hot, interfering with
the normal heating cycle.
Cooling a piece in contact with a mold is very efficient if it is a metallic mold and has
cooling ducts with water re-circulation. In these cases, enough volume of refrigerant
liquid should be used to keep a constant temperature on the mold. If the cooling water
is kept at a certain temperature, marks on the piece (usually known as undulations on
its surface) due to a cold mold, can be minimized. Aluminum or epoxy resin and/or
polyester molds are very suitable if you want to include a refrigeration system. Wooden
molds are not convenient for long runs because they do not dissipate heat quickly.

Non
conventional
cooling
methods

52

There are faster cooling methods that use a spray or a very thin de-ionized water curtain or liquid carbon dioxide, which rapidly cools a thermoformed piece. This method
is not common because of its cost, but both methods can be justified, specially if they
are applied locally to prevent thermal tearing of very deep pieces. Irregular fast cooling
of a formed piece causes great efforts that affect durability.

Thermoforming

Cutting thermoformed pieces

Once the forming cycle is finished, pieces have to be cut to eliminate excess material.
It is very rarely that a finished piece does not need cutting, as in the case of lighted
signs. Most thermoformed products need some kind of cutting.
The right equipment and technique must be chosen. Anyway, there are some factors
that determine the choice, as sheet measures, size and depth of a piece, acceptable
level of roughness of the cutting surface, required dimensional tolerance and cutting
speed among others.
Cutting
equipment.

There are several equipments to cut thermoformed pieces:

Electric tools.
Circular saw.
A circular saw must have straight teeth to help cooling and not to soften the material.
Tungsten carbide teeth provide excellent cutting and keep sharp longer. Cutting must
be slow to prevent heating or stretching the material. The saw has to be operated at
relatively high speed and before starting, make sure that the saw has reached its highest speed. The thicker the material, the bigger the diameter of the saw must be, and
have the least number of teeth (minimum 2 teeth per 0.8.). When a hand circular saw
is used, the sheet has to be held and pressed firmly as it cuts at a steady speed to
avoid chipping.
Table 14. Cutting specifications for circular, radial, or travel saw.
DISK

SHEET
Thickness inches

DIAMETERS (inches)

Thickness (inches)

No. TEETH (*)

0.06-0.12
0.12-0.16
0.2-0.4
0.48-0.6
0.72-0.84
1-2.08

8
10
10
12
12
12-14

1/16-1/32
3/32-1/8
1/8
1/8
1/8
1/8-5/32

96
82-96
82-96
82-96
48-52
48-52

*Teeth with tungsten carbide bit, teeth with straight surface at the center, combined or alternated

53

Thermoforming

Band saw
A band saw is the right one to make curves in flat sheets and rethread formed pieces.
A band saw with variable speed up to 5000 feet/min. and minimum 10" deep groove is
recommended . It is convenient to use the special bands to cut metal or plastic; the
guide must be adjusted as close as possible to the material to avoid chipping on the
cutting line and to reduce the vibration of the saw to a minimum. Next, cutting specifications with a band saw are listed:
Table 15, cutting specifications with a band saw.

SHEET
Thickness (inches)
0.06-0.12
0.16-0.24
0.32-0.48
0.6-1
1-2.08

ENGINE

BAND
WIDTH MIN
(inches)

TEETH X
(inch)

HP

RPM

3/16
3/16
1/4
3/8
3/8

18
14
10
8
8

1
1.5
1.5
1 .5-2
2

DE
2500
A
3500

Table 16 Radial cutting specifications, with band saw

SHEET
MINIMUM RADIUS
TO CUT IN (inches)

WIDTH OF
BAND (inches)

TICKNESS OF
BAND (inches)

TEETH X
INCHES

0.48
0.52-0.76
0.8-1.52
1.56-2.28
2.32-3.04
3.08-4.56
4.6-8.12
8.16-12.2
12.24-20

3/16
1/4
3/8
1/2
5/8
3/4
1
1 1/4
1 1/2

.028
.028
.028
.032
.032
.032
.035
.035
.035

7
7
6
5
5
4
4
3
3

BAND

Router
Chemcasts acrylic sheets can be cut with a portable or fixed router (electric or pneumatic). A 1.5 HP and 20,000 to 30,000 RPM electric router is recommended, and bits
or cutters with tungsten carbide bits with 1/4 or 3/8" diameter and ideally 1/2" to avoid
that vibrations break the bit.

54

Thermoforming

This method provides very uniform cut and is good to form as well as to make big
diameter holes. The router can be fixed to a table and a copying guide can be used for
intricate designs.
The cutting tool of a circular saw or router can be changed for an abrasive normal disk
or even a diamond one; this kind of disk should not be used when an acrylic formed
piece is reinforced with glass fiber, as in the case of tubs, wash basins, phone booths,
etc.
Automatic equipment.
This kind of cutting equipment is used when a high automatic level is required; generally, this equipment has a computing system and specialized software, like CAD-CAMCAE, which is used to design the cutting pattern, and later send the information to a
peripheral one, that in this case may be 1 or 5 head routers, pressured water system
or laser. Cutting capacity is not limited to a direction or plane, it can perform any kind
of cut or perforation.
Pressured water cutting
The abrasive system with pressured water eliminates many of the problems related to
the machinery and cutting operations of conventional cutting. A very fine jet of pressured water 50.000 Psi, is concentrated, at a speed of about 3.3 yd./min and a pressure of +/- 0.04.
Using a combination of highly pressured water and abrasive materials, such as silica
powder, the water jet can cut every material without heating and provide an exceptional
finishing on the cutting surface.
The advantages of this cutting system on acrylic are: eliminating heating distortions,
any cutting angle can be performed because of its multi-directional type integrated to
computing systems, it eliminates secondary operations like sanding, and reduces
material waste since the cutting area is very reduced.
Cutting with laser
Cutting with laser is a technique that has already been used in other industrial sectors
for several years and its main characteristics are:
High pressure cutting
Manufacturing flexibility
Reduced cost
An advantage of the laser cutting is its application versatility, since apart from its direct
use to cut acrylic sheets, it offers the possibility of processing many other materials.

55

Thermoforming

With a laser device you can cut, weld and hew surfaces up to 1.2 thick, because laser
energy is concentrated on one spot and heat generation can be limited to a minimum
zone, which avoids any heat deformation or structural changes in the material. Very fine
cuts with accurate edges can be obtained which is good for acrylic pieces with intricate forms. You can make 0.004 diameter bores at a speed up to 150,000 holes per
hour. A laser equipment can cut 1/2" of acrylic at a speed of 12./min.
Swaging
This technique is not much used because of its limitations; it may be used on thermoformed pieces when they are still hot and are not over 0.08 thick, the blades should
be at a temperature between 104F and 140F (40C and 60 C). Even then cutting
quality is not very good. This kind of cutting is better for plastics-like acetate polystyrene and foamed P.V.C.
Cutting
techniques

Although there are non conventional cutting techniques and highly automatic ones,
their practical application is far from popular, because of their high investment and
maintenance cost compared with traditional techniques like router or circular saw cutting.
Some cutting alternatives of thermoformed pieces are shown next. As long as it is possible, you should build a cutting template as support for the thermoformed piece, this
way you will avoid variations on a piece and production will be standardized.

Cutting with router and bullet bit

56

Thermoforming

Cutting with router, straight bit and copying guide

57

Cutting with bench saw and iron or

aluminum angle butt

Cutting with bench saw and wooden butt

Cutting with router and cookie cutter

or abrasive disk on the outside

Cutting with router and cookie cutter

or abrasive disk on the inside

Cutting with radial saw and template on the inside

Cutting with radial saw and template

on the outside

Thermoforming

Thermoforming variables
In the thermoforming process there are variables that can affect aspect, quality, dimensions and distribution of the material of a formed piece. Knowing these variables can
help to solve difficult production problems in the thermoforming process. Following, the
most frequent variables as deviations in the thermoforming process are shown.
Material
variables

Thickness of a sheet
When electric resistors or infrared radiation is used to heat, changes on caliber of the
thickness of the material can cause an uneven heating, creating variations in the
formed part. In pre-stretching or deep forming, close dimensional tolerance is needed
to avoid breaking the material in very thin areas, because of the force exerted by vacuum or pressured air. In very deep pieces there is a variation in the thickness of the
material which depends on the thickness used, the area and maximum depth of a
piece. When there is a thickness variation between each sheet, the heating temperature must be reduced to prevent material from over softening. If the temperature of a
sheet is homogeneous, even a piece with thin areas can be well made.
Sheet pigmentation
In the case of radiation heating (electric resistors) the different colors of the same material can cause temperature changes and heating cycle changes. In a convection furnace (hot air re-circulation) this variable does not apply.
.
Size of a sheet.
To get a better distribution of the material of a very deep piece, it is more economic to
increase the size of a sheet instead of its thickness.
Temperature uniformity of a sheet
When the temperature of any material is increased, tension force is reduced and therefore the sheet becomes malleable. Simple or deep forming made at a lower range than
annealing temperature provides the best results.
For high quality pieces, it is important that a sheet heats evenly at annealing point
length-wise and width-wise. The sheets that are not evenly heated will be deficiently
formed: there will be more stretching in the normal temperature zones than in the ones
that were not softened.

58

Thermoforming

Mold variables

Vacuum bores or orifices

Vacuum speed is directly proportional to the quality of a piece. A slow vacuum makes
the part of the sheet where the first contact with the mold takes place to cool faster
than the rest. Therefore, there are sections with very thin walls or incomplete pieces.
To eliminate air quickly, 1/8" and _" vacuum bores should be used. When possible,
there should be vacuum canals or ducts since they display a greater volume of air.
Mold surface
When a thermoplastic sheet is formed it will take the form of the mold, one with opaque
finishing, will give an opaque finishing, a very polished finishing (mirror finishing) of
course, will provide a shining piece.
Mold temperature.
A mold surface temperature influences directly the duration of the forming cycles, the
size and a better aspect of a formed piece. A thermoformed piece final shrinkage
depends on having a mold temperature similar to the thermal expansion coefficient of
the material.
Mechanical support temperature
To prevent a sheet from getting cold during a pre-stretching operation causing "cooling marks" and deformations, a mechanical support should be heated at a temperature over the distortion point.

Pre-stretching
variables

Vacuum box
In vacuum with return and free forming it is very effective to use a vacuum box of 3.2
to 4.8 longer than the total depth of the formed bubble to prevent cooling on the
perimeter of the sheet in contact with the mold. Before forming the bubble, the sheet
must be strongly sealed on the mold. In a vacuum with return operation, maximum
thinning will occur at the bottom of the formed bubble. To get thicker walls, there must
be a two step edge in the vacuum box which will cool the top area making it thicker.
Air temperature
Sometimes the air of the system should be pre-heated. When air at room temperature
gets into the system, it may cool the sheet, affecting its size and form. With thin materials, the cooling problem is more serious. With pre-heated air, the temperature should
be about 10% below the temperature of the sheet. An air deflector or an air diffuser
should be used at the intake of the mold since they can prevent a sudden cooling in
some areas of the material.

59

Thermoforming

Mechanical
support
variables

Mechanical support form

This must be closely adapted to the form of the cavity of the mold, but must be 10 to
20% smaller length-wise and width-wise (or diameter). When these dimensions are
4.8 or larger, the small supports must allow at least 1/4" margin between the final part
and the support, to prevent thickness irregularities of the material as far as possible.
When the mold has canals (corrugated tin) with sudden changes from flat to narrow
zones it is important that the support is made with detachable parts that fit into the
canals of the mold. These parts will help add more material to increase thickness in a
particular area. For boxes in the mold, the same projection of the support must be
applied. In the case of deep depressions on the walls of the mold, a support mechanism should be incorporated to take material to that zone, all the corners should be
softened and have generous radiuses.
Support materials.
To get good results, the mechanical support must have excellent qualities to transfer
heat, and must have constant and prolonged resistance at high temperatures.
Aluminum is one of the best materials. For short or prototype runs hard wood is better
and to prevent it from getting too dry or cracking because of the heat, the surface has
to be greased frequently.
Support temperature.
The temperature of a support must be kept below that of the forming of a sheet. The
support may have low working temperatures, anyway, if the temperature drops, the
cooling marks will be more visible.
It is not so critical to strictly control the temperature of a mold. In the case of a support, a maximum uniform heating of 50F must be kept without variation, with suitable
regulated temperature the molding marks are generally eliminated.
Support surface.
A smooth surface with well polished radiuses, dust-free and rubbish-free, will produce
good pieces
Support height
An effective mechanical support is the one that is longer than the depth of the mold,
since it can regulate adjusting.
Support vacuum speed.
Increasing the speed of a support raises air compression capacity in the cavity of the
mold. The vacuum system capacity and its duration related to the run of the support
affects pressure in the cavity of the mold. Normally, the vacuum cycle must start at the
same time as the support touches the material.

60

Thermoforming

Support, depth of action

The best results are achieved when a support penetrates 78 or 80% in the cavity of the
mold. This creates the best combination between the thickness of the bottom and the
walls of a piece.
Material variables when forming with support
The kind of material used will affect the amount of pressure needed to keep the right contact of the material around the support. High resistance of materials such as acrylic and
ABS, need air pressure between 15 and 50 Psi.

61

Thermoforming

Problems and solutions guide

DEFECT
Bubble or blister on the sheet

POSIBLE CAUSE
Excessive moisture

Heating too fast

Irregular heating.

Incomplete forms and

details

Insufficient vacuum

Slow vacuum displacement

Insufficient heating of a sheet.

Color change of a sheet

Excessive heating
Low mold temperature.

62

Thermoforming

SUGGESTED SOLUTION
Pre-dry sheet.
Dry both sides of sheet at
140F (60C)
Reduce furnace temperature.
Increase distance between
sheet and heater.
Check and fix the furnace.
Check heating elements.
Eliminate obstructions in vacuum system
Increase number of holes
Increase their diameter
More tank and vacuum pump
capacity.
Leakage.
Check vacuum system for
possible leaks.
Use vacuum canals in possible areas.
Increase temperature or heating time.
Reduce heating time.
Reduce furnace temperature.
Heat mold.

DEFECT
Color change of a sheet.

POSIBLE CAUSE
Low temperature of mechanical
support
Too much thinning of a sheet.
Sheet cooling before its formiing is completed.

Mold wrongly designed.

Inadequate material
Excessive warping or bending of a sheet

Cooling marks on a formed

piece.

Thermoforming

Heat mechanical support.

Increase sheet thickness.
Place sheet more quickly on
the mold.
Increase vacuum speed.
Heat mold and mechanical
support.
Reduce mold depth.
Improve vacuum air flow.
Use more curved radiuses.
Change material.

Sheet too hot

Reduce heating time.

Reduce furnace

Sheet too big.

If possible, reduce sheet size

Use screens, mainly on center of sheet (only infrared
heating furnaces).

Sheet too hot.

Reduce mold temperature. .

Reduce heating time.

Insufficient temperature of
support.

Raise support temperature. .

Use soft flannel filter on sup
port surface
Raise mold and/or support temperature, without exceed
ing temperature range.
Soften and/or round mold
critical areas.

Mold low temperature

(Shrinking stops at contact
with mold or cold support).

63

SUGGESTED SOLUTION

DEFECT
Small wrinkles or circular
marks..

POSIBLE CAUSE
Sheet too hot

Reduce mold temperature.

Reduce heating time..

Too big vacuum bores.

Refill and bore again smaller

diameter.

Bending variation of sheet.

Sheet irregular temperature.

Check there are no drafts in

furnace, deflectors must be
incorporated.

Wrinkles while forming.

Excessive heating of sheet.

Reduce furnace temperature.

Reduce heating time.
As far as possible, more distance between 2 heaters and
sheet (only infrared heating
furnaces)
Reduce molding range temperature.
Check vacuum system.
Increase vacuum canals or orifices.

Excessive bending of sheet.

Insufficient vacuum..

64

SUGGESTED SOLUTION

Very shiny lines or zones.

Over heating sheet on shine

area.

Use screens to reduce heat on

zone.
As far as possible more distance between 2 heaters and
sheet (only infrared heating furnaces).
Reduce heating time.

Bad surface aspect of piece.

Defect caused by air caught

on flat surface of mold.
Insufficient vacuum.

Sandblast mold surface.

Thermoforming

Increase number of vacuum orifices

If marks are isolated, increase
number of vacuum orifices in
affected area.

DEFECT
Piece surface bad aspect

POSIBLE CAUSE

SUGGESTED SOLUTION

Excessive mold temperature.

IInsufficient mold temperature..
Superficie del molde demasiado spera o rugosa.
Dirty sheet.

Reduce mold temperature.

Increase mold temperature.

Excessive distortion or
shrinking after removing a
piece off a mold.

Piece removed too fast.

Prolong cooling cycle.

Move the piece to a cooling
template.
Use refrigerant.
Use water spray steam to
reduce piece temperature.
use electric ventilators to cool
piece inside the mold.

Excessive thinning of walls of

a piece

Inadequate forming technique.

Use different forming technique: vacuum with return, pressured air and mechanical support, pressured air and return
with vacuum.
Check material meets quality
norms and /or complain.
Check furnace operation.
Reduce furnace temperature.

Material thickness variation.

Uneven sheet heating.
Sheet at excessive temperature.
Cold mold.
Sheet not firmly fastened to
frame.

Soften mold surface.

Make mold of other material.
Clean sheet.

Reduce heating time.

Heat mold.
IIncrease closing pressured.
Check possible sheet thickness variation.

65

Thermoforming

DEFECT
Pieces twist

POSIBLE CAUSE

SUGGESTED SOLUTION

Piece cooled wrongly.

Uneven wall thickness distribution.

Adjust cooling cycle.

Use pre-stretching mechanical
or technical support.
Sheet might be unevenly heated.
Increase vacuum orifices.
Modify mold
As far as possible, curve a little
flat areas.
Increase mold temperature.

Wrongly designed mold.

Wrongly designed piece.
Insufficient mold temperature.

Shrinking marks on corners.

Mold surface too smooth.

Insufficient vacuum.

Sandblast mold surface.

Check vacuum system.
Add more orifices.

Bubble stretches unevenly.

Insufficient sheet temperature.

Sheet uneven thickness.
Insufficient pressured air.

Check furnace operation condition

Use cooling screens (Only
infrared radiation heating furnace.).
Longer heating time at lower
temperature.
Incorporate an air distribution
system with deflectors.

In deep forming, thin corners.

Wrong forming technique.

Change forming technique.

Thin sheet
Sheet unevenly heated

Increase sheet thickness.

Check furnace operation.
Use screens to change heat
distribution.
Change furnace temperature.

Mold wrongly heated.

66

Thermoforming

DEFECT
Piece sticks to mechanical
support.

POSIBLE CAUSE
Mechanical support (wood).
Mechanical support (metal).

Piece sticks to mold.

Piece high temperature.

Mold insufficient exit angle.
Wooden mold.

Corners of formed piece

shatter once in use..

67

Thermoforming

Piece wrongly designed.

Effort concentration on a
piece.

SUGGESTED SOLUTION

Apply removing agent.

Cover with soft felt or flannel.
Apply removing agent.
Lower support temperature.
Cover with felt or flannel.

Longer cooling time.

Reduce mold temperature.
Give 1 and 3 angle
Change matrix.
Apply removing agent.

Redesign piece.
Increase mold curve radius.
Increase thermoforming temperature.
Make sure piece is wholly
formed before it cools below
forming temperature.

APPENDIX
Glossary

ABSORBENCY
Fraction of radiant energy taken by a sheet.
CAVITY
Depression of a vacuum made mold, machine finished or a combination of both,.
depending on the number of depressions, it may have one or several cavities.
CONDUCTION
Energy transferred by directly touching a solid.
CONVECTION
Energy transferred by the movement of a fluid current.
COOLING MARKS
Marks caused by using wrong temperature on a plastic sheet, derived from inadequate
heating.
CO-POLYMER
Polymer composed of tow different kinds of monomers.
CYCLE
Complete repetitive sequence in the thermoforming process, which consist in: heating,
forming, cooling and removal.
DIMENSIONAL STABILITY
Capacity of a piece to keep the accurate shape and dimension of the mold used.
ENTHALPY
Inner energy of a system.
HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT
Effectiveness measure of energy transported between a fluid current and a solid surface.
HOMO-POLYMER
Polymer made of only one monomer
INFRARED
Part of electro-magnetic spectrum, between the range of visible light and the range of
radio waves. Radiant heating is the range at which infrared heaters are used to heat a
sheet. Wave length is 0.08 to 0.4

68

Thermoforming

MELTING TEMPERATURE
Range of temperature at which a crystalline polymer turns from a solid rubber-like state
into a viscous-elastic liquid.
MOLDING TEMPERATURE
A piece temperature at which it can be removed without deforming.
PRESSURED AIR SHAPING
Difference of pressure exceeding two atmospheres (30 Psi.).
RADIATION
It is the transfer or exchange of electromagnetic energy.
REFLECTIVITY
Fraction of radiant energy reflected on a sheet surface.
RESIN
Another name to call a polymer or plastic material.
SCRAP
Material waste that is not part of the final piece.
TENSION
External charge exerted on a defined area.
THERMAL DIFFUSIVENESS
Transmission index of calorific energy in a material.
TRANSMITTANCE
Fraction of energy that is transmitted through a sheet.
TRI-POLYMER
Polymer composed of three different kinds of monomers.
VACUUM TANK
Tank between the vacuum pump and the mold, that allows you to apply pressure evenly during forming.

69

Thermoforming

Plastic reinforced with glass fiber

Introduction
Reinforced plastics are those thermo-plastic or thermo-fixed materials, in whose shaping process, some reinforcing material is used to improve their mechanic characteristics. This reinforcing material can be continuous or discontinuous. As examples of the
former there are fiber materials like: salwort, jute, henequen, rayon, etc., but the most
used is glass fiber.
Resin,
polyester
and reinforced
plastic

A polyester is made by the reaction of a poly-basic acid and a polyhydric-alcohol, at

temperatures over 212F (100C), getting one polyester and water. Depending on the
type of acids and alcohol used and modifications performed, the following kinds of
products will be obtained.
Non saturated polyesters
These are lineal polyester resins obtained when dibasic acids and polyvalent alcohols
react, and can polymerize in a cross-linking way with vinyl monomers to make thermofixed plastic..
Alkyd polyesters.
These are the ones modified with oil, used for decorative and/or protective coverings,
for example: paints, varnishes, printing inks, etc.
Plasticizing polyesters
Polyesters totally saturated that are used to soften other plastics, they are also known
as polymeric plasticizers. They are used to make vinyl with or without reinforcement,
for example: the one used for car upholstery, wall paper, etc.
Fibers and films
They are polyesters of heavy molecular weight, molecularly oriented and for which specific acids and alcohol are used. Example: polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.
Polyester foam.
Polyesters with a great number of hydroxyl groups and that react with interlinked
chains with isomeric acid groups, to make foams, elastomers, coverings, etc.
According to the previous classification, polyesters are a great variety of chemical
composites and products. However, they are generally used to name composites
defined as non-saturated polyesters, so unless something else is suggested, this
denomination will be adopted.
Polyester resins are used in a wide variety of applications, in different industries, for
example: forming with reinforcing materials (reinforced plastic), encapsulating, protec-

70

Thermoforming

tive covering, decorative objects, buttons, etc. Reinforced plastic industry is the one
that has the most polyester consumption.
Increasing demand and application of plastic reinforced items are basically due to their
properties and features, among which, the following can be mentioned:
1) Composites are easy to handle (polyester resin is applied in liquid form).
2) Easy curing and using.
3) Excellent dimensional stability in the final product.
4) Good dielectric properties.
5) Excellent physical and mechanical properties. A reinforced plastic sheet, equivalent
to three times steel thickness, has mechanical resistance to tension, weighs about half
and is more resilient.
6) Rust resistant and also to a great amount of chemical agents.
7) Easy finishing (coloring, painting, machine finishing, etc.).
To obtain optimal reinforced plastic features, the reinforcing material must have the
best mechanical and chemical properties. Next, reinforcements most used are mentioned.
Reinforcing materials
The most important reinforcing material are:
1.- Cellulose fibers.
Cellulose alpha.
Cotton.
Jute.
Salwort.
Rayon.
2.- Synthetic fibers.
Polyamides (nylon).
Polyester (Dacron).
Polyacrylonitrile.
Polyvinyl alcohol fibers.
3.- Asbestos fibers.
4.- Special fibers.
Carbonate and graphite fibers.
Boron and tungsten fibers.
Ceramic fibers.

71

Thermoforming

5.- Reinforcing charges.

6.- Glass fibers.

72

Thermoforming

Glass fiber
In reinforced plastic industry, the material most used is glass fiber because of its features:
1.- Tension high resistant.
2.- Incombustible.
3.- Biologically inactive.
4.- Excellent weather resistant as well as to a great deal of chemical agents.
5.- Excellent dimensional stability.
6.- Low thermal conductivity.
The main uses of glass fiber reinforcements are:
Roving.
Mat.
Woven roving.
Surfacing mat.
Chopped strand.
Following, processes to obtain these and their features are mentioned.

Roving
Roving is one of the most used glass fiber products, and it is indispensable when reinforced plastic items are made by sprinkling, directed filament and hot forming (preform manufacturing). Roving comes wound on bobbins, and it usually has 60 threads.

73

Thermoforming

Mat
This is the most popular and known glass fiber product in reinforced plastic industry
and it is made of fiber mono-filaments about 2, long.
Woven roving
This is roving strings woven at 90 angles as to their longitudinal axes. Combined with
mat, it is used as secondary reinforcement, to manufacture boats and big structures.
Surfacing mat
This material is made of glass fiber sections like the mat, though with less weight/unit
area. It is mainly used to improve the finishing of reinforced plastic products and to
increase their weather resistance features; since when it is put on the reinforcement
material, usually a mat, it does not allow the fiber to crop up and as it absorbs resin,
finishing gets smoother.
Chopped strand
This glass fiber presentation is not much used, it is made by the machine that makes
mat. Its size varies from 2/2" to 2" long (1.25 to 5.0 cm). It is mainly used to make items
by methods of pre-mixing.
According to reinforcing materials classification, there is another type of products used
in the manufacture of reinforced plastics, the most important are:
Asbestos.
Salwort, henequen, jute.
Synthetic fibers.
Ceramic fibers.
Polyvinyl alcohol fibers.
Special reinforcements.
To improve reinforced plastic efficiency and application, several reinforcing elements
have been developed. Their main characteristic is a high elasticity module, which considerably increases mechanical resistance of laminated products. This is specially
important in specialized fields like aero-spatial vehicles, submarines, etc. Among these
reinforcements are:
Boron tungsten filaments.
Carbonate and graphite fibers.
Metallic filaments.
Whiskers
Adhesion promoting agents.
Hybrid reinforcements.
Metalized reinforcements.

74

Thermoforming

Mechanical resistance of a plastic/reinforcing composite derives from joining, generally mechanically a system composites. This joint, satisfactory in most cases, may
reduce composite or product aging as well as moisture, when glass fiber systems are
used to reinforce, since the fiber is hydrophilic and tends to absorb water which weakens or destroys plastic joints.
To prevent this, chemical composites hydrogen siliceous type are added to the inorganic charge, resin or reinforcing material. They provide a chemical consolidation in the
interface of the joint, improving and keeping the mechanical properties of composites,
apart from improving dielectric characteristics of the system.
Manufacturing reinforced plastic molds.
To make a mold, a model or original of the piece to be made is required. When there
are only specifications and blue prints, the model can be made of cast, wood, or epoxy
paste, depending on how difficult the piece is and how skilled the operators are. Some
times, the model can be made by combining polyurethane foam or polystyrene plates
covered with a thin coat of cast or epoxy.
When the model is finished, roughness can be smoothed with emery cloth and then
applying a sealer to eliminate porosity. In most of the cases it can be a nitro-cellulose
lacquer, which is spayed, or shellac dissolved in alcohol. To polish the model, a removing agent is applied, its specific function is avoiding adherence of the resin to the mold.
Removing agents can be classified in three groups:
Solutions.
Generally aqueous polyvinyl-alcohol, methyl-cellulose, etc. This kind of removers must
be applied in each molding operation.
Waxes and wax emulsions
This agent is applied with a flannel or felt, and polished manually.
Internal removers
These agents are mixed with gel-coat. When they mix with the tooling gel-coat, removing characteristics improve, making molding easy.
Once the removing agent has been chosen, the mold is coated with a resin preparation known as gel-coat or finishing coat.
Gel-coat
It is made of a resin that provides a film whose characteristics are:
1.-Uniform surface.
2.-Avoiding that reinforcing material crops up.
3.-Improving weather resistant properties.
75

Thermoforming

Some times, a glass fiber mat should be put to reinforce gel-coat, getting a resin rich
coat and avoiding that the reinforcing material crops up. Gel-coat is usually sprayed,
but it can also be applied with hair brushes. In that case, accelerator/catalyst quantities should be less than for immersion. Finishing film thickness depends on the use and
characteristics of the piece to be made and it can be measured with a calibrator of
humid film.
Manual finishing process
It is often used since it does not require any special equipment. Its process is:
A mold prepared with removing agents (wax, removing film or both) is coated with a
finishing product using a soft brush or spraying equipment, thickness varies depending on the use of the piece and the suppliers specifications. Once the gel-coat thickness is determined and it has been cured, the glass fiber mat is placed. Next, using a
brush and with vertical movements, a resin of styrene monomers or methyl methacrylate, or both, is applied to the mold, as well as the accelerator, whiskers and/or toxitropic agents, heat concentrator, catalyst, etc.
Later, and before the resin jells rolling is done, with a plastic or metal 0.36 to 1 (9.0
to 25mm.) diameter and 2 to 8 (5 to 20 cm.) long roller generally grooved, depending
on the case.
Rolling the roller in several directions pressing evenly helps to eliminate air caught in
the resin and reinforcing material, as well as to obtain good adhesion with the gel-coat.
Finishing and rolling should be done by sections no bigger than 1m2 when a piece is big.

76

Thermoforming

Often, commercial measurements of mat and woven roving (which are always applied
with this procedure) are not enough to cover the whole mold; therefore, they have to
be joined by sections. Overlapping them 5cm is suggested. The resin to join them
should have the least accelerator and catalyst to avoid problems created by material
contractions which derived from a bigger amount of resin, that reduces curing time and
increases exo-thermal temperature.
Some times, one or more woven roving layers have to be used as reinforcement. They
must be put between the 2 mat sections, or even better, as a final layer and never
directly with the gel-coat, because if the finishing coat is not properly applied, the
woven roving will be visible, which will give the product a bad aspect.
The brushes and rollers have to be washed intermittently with a solvent like acetone,
ethyl acetone, methyl ethyl acetone, etc., since as the resin cures it hardens and they
may get damaged. Most of the time it is enough to put them in a container with a solvent or a monomer mixture.
Reinforced plastic machine finishing.
Reinforced plastic product manufacturing, often includes machine finishing or adjusting, operations that are not highly specialized, but must be done carefully to get good
results. Among machine finishing operations are: cutting, perforating, joining, etc. The
most important are detailed next
Cutting on the mold.
It is also known as trimming and it is cutting the material (glass fiber and resin) that surpasses the mold or piece made. This is done with steel blades along the edge of the mold
when the resin is jelled and has not been totally cured. In the case of products manufactured with pressure or temperature, cutting must be done immediately after removing the
piece; otherwise, it becomes harder to do so.
Cutting with equipment.
It is performed on totally finished products. Abrasive products are recommended, since
metallic disks are not as fast, accurate, and ergonomic as the ones suggested. Water
should be used as cutting takes place; since water acts as refrigerant and lubricant
helping to eliminate reinforced plastic dust and the cut is cleaner.
Reinforced plastic joints
Often, 2 or more sections have to be joined to get a final piece; The systems commonly
used are

77

Thermoforming

Joining with adhesives

Although this kind of joining can be done in 2 ways, on the edges or overlapping, the
latter is the most used. Because contact surface is bigger. The adhesives most used
are: polyester resin (modified with flexible resin) or epoxy resin that provides excellent
adhesion. Adhesive material can be put directly on the plastic surface, though applying it on a layer of reinforcing material is suggested, placing the layer between the surface to be joined, and pressing next, to obtain uniformity in the joint.
Rivets.
Rivets are not often used in this industry, but if needed, aluminum or bronze ones are
recommended. They must not be bigger than 4.5mm (3/16") diameter. The minimum
distance from the edge is three times their diameter. Besides, flat washers should be
used to reduce the rivet tendency to penetrate laminated.
Using screws
Screws are the most commonly used to join reinforced plastic pieces, excepting adhesives. The use of setscrews is not advisable. Using a screw and nut has the advantage
that they are easy to place, are adjustable and available. To get the most efficiency, the
following rules must be followed:
Distance between the center of the screw and the edge of a laminated must be minimum three times the screw diameter.
Separation between the center of each screw must be 2.5 times perforation diameter.
Flat washers should be used on both sides of laminated, thus, charge and mechanical efforts are uniformly distributed
Perforations must be perpendicular to reinforcing layer, and the screws must adjust
perfectly in. (Both screw and perforation diameter must be the same)..
Screws allow using adhesives, which will provide a better quality and more resistant
joint.

78

Thermoforming

Table: unit conversions.

Specific gravit: 1

g
lb
= 62.4
cm3
cu ft

Specific heat: 1 Btu = 1 cal

lb F
g C

Heat fusion: 1

Btu in
Btu ft
cal cm
=12
= 0.00413
= 0.0173
sq ft hr F
sq hr F
cm2 sec C

Thermal conductivity: 1

79

Thermoforming

in = 1.80 cm
ln F
cm C

W cm
cm2 C

Table: temperature scale conversion.

F
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
145
150
155
160
165
170
175
180
185
190
195
200
205
210
215
220
225
230
235
240
245
250
255
260
265
270

C
10
12.8
15.6
18.3
21.1
23.9
26.7
29.4
32.2
35.0
37.8
40.6
43.3
46.1
48.9
51.7
54.4
57.2
60.0
62.8
65.6
68.3
71.1
73.9
76.7
79.4
82.2
85.0
87.8
90.6
93.3
96.1
98.9
101.7
104.4
107.2
110.0
112.8
115.6
118.3
121.1
123.9
126.7
129.4
132.2

Temperature scale conversion formulas.

F = C x l.8 + 32
C = F - 32/1.8
80

Thermoforming

F
275
280
285
290
295
300
305
310
315
320
325
330
335
340
345
350
355
360
365
370
375
380
385
390
395
400
405
410
415
420
425
430
435
440
445
450
455
460
465
470
475
480
485
490
495
500

C
135
137.8
140.6
143.3
146.1
148.9
151.7
154.4
157.2
160.0
162.8
165.6
168.3
171.1
173.9
176.7
179.4
182.2
185.0
187.8
190.6
193.3
196.1
198.9
201.7
204.4
207.2
210.0
212.8
215.6
218.3
221.1
223.9
226.7
229.4
232.2
235.0
237.8
240.6
243.3
246.1
248.9
251.7
254.4
257.2
260.0

IMPORTANT: CHEMCAST is not legally liable for the recommendations or information given in this manual,
which are based on information we consider to be true, we offer it bona fide, but we do not guarantee it, since
transformation conditions and use of products are beyond our control.

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Thermoforming