Such production techniques allow for the creation of an extremely diverse range of products, though most are limited to a relatively shallow depth. Bottles, containers, shrink-wrap, baggies, caps, toys, computer housing panels and more are common examples of plastic components vacuum formed. Read More…
Leading Manufacturers
Valk Industries, Inc.
Greeneville, TN | 423-638-1284Valk’s policy is “to meet or exceed our customer’s requirements, working together as a team with honesty and integrity.” Valk’s success is due to their long standing focus on quality & customer service.
Conlet Plastics, Inc.
New Milford, CT | 860-354-0885For over 40 years, Conlet Plastics has been a leader in vacuum forming. They serve a wide variety of industries including medical, airline, automotive and signage, with high-quality products that are reasonably priced & delivered on time.
Profile Plastics, Inc.
Lake Bluff, IL | 847-604-5100Since 1960, Profile Plastics Inc. has been at the forefront of thermoforming technology. Utilizing the latest software and technology, our expert staff of engineers can design custom vacuum, pressure, and twin-sheet thermoformed solutions. Over the last 60 years, we have developed a process that allows us to deliver consistent, high volume, and precise products with superior quality. Our high quality products are manufactured with great attention to detail. ISO 9001:2008 certified.
Engineered Plastic Products, Inc.
Stirling, NJ | 908-647-3500Engineered Plastic Products custom forms & fabricates sheet thermoplastic materials, standard & specialized, for any number of industrial & commercial requirements. EPP has been widely recognized for outstanding manufacturing & service since 1958 for companies such as GE, NASA & AT&T. Custom fabricated parts can be as large as 72"x108" down to 2"x2" in any thickness up to 1 1/2". Post-forming includes all types of machining & assembly.
Arrowhead Plastic Engineering, Inc.
Muncie, IN | 765-286-0533Arrowhead has been in the heavy gauge thermoforming industry since 1972. Current machinery includes single station shuttle machines that can form parts up to 120” by 72” and rotary vacuum forming machines that can form parts up to 108” by 108”. The plant also has 5-Axis CNC routers with a cutting envelope of 120” by 60” X 48” for precision part trimming and a FARO arm for precision measuring and scanning. We have experience thermoforming a wide range of different polymers for many different industries.
SAY Plastics, Inc.
McSherrystown, PA | 717-633-6333Founded in 1986, SAY Plastics is a plastics processor specializing in OEM thermoforming. Our state-of the-art facility, located in South Central Pennsylvania, houses the latest manufacturing technologies. From our computer controlled forming equipment and our vacuum molding capabilities, to our brand new high speed CNC Routers, SAY Plastics has the tools for your next project. Our team will work with you every step of the way to ensure quality service every time.
Robinson Industries
Coleman, MI | 877-465-4055Robinson Industries offers thermoformed and injection molded reusable, heavy duty plastic pallets, packaging and more. We are one of the largest suppliers of reusable pallets to many industries.
Vacuum Formed Plastics - Engineered Plastic Products, Inc.Vacuum forming is a relatively low-cost process that allows for the inexpensive production of durable three dimensional plastic components with a high strength to weight ratio. Such properties make these items popular in automotive, medical, cosmetic, food and beverage, electronics, sporting goods, household products, packaging, shipping, retail and telecommunications industries. Application specific properties are easily achieved as a number of different thermoplastics are easily implemented in plastic forming operations.
Vacuum Formed Plastics - Engineered Plastic Products, Inc.Examples include polyester (PET), used for packaging, high density polyethylene (HDPE), which makes bottles and bags, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), used for food wrap, vegetable oil bottles and blister packaging. Polypropylene (PP) is also popular for food containers and caps, while high grades of polystyrene (PS) are best for products like disposable plastic silverware, CD cases and cartons. Other materials that may be used in plastic forming services include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acrylics, polycarbonate and Kydex, which is a PVC-based thermoplastic.
There are different methods of plastic forming, the most popular of which is vacuum forming. Vacuum forming, also called thermoforming, is one of the oldest plastic forming techniques. The process begins when a plastic sheet of uniform thickness is fed into an extruder. Here the material is heated in an electric, infrared or natural gas heater until it reaches the desired level of softness and pliability. While still hot the sheet is transferred to a forming station where two mating molds made of aluminum enclose the sheet in chamber.
A vacuum pump removes all the air from this molding environment, forcing the sheet of plastic to adhere with the mold. After the newly formed part has dried and cured, it is ejected from the mold and trimmed if necessary. Pressure forming and twin sheet thermoforming are slightly different techniques.
Pressure forming uses the vacuum environment and additional air pressure to increase the tightness of the sheet to the mold to create more detailed products. Twin sheet thermoforming takes 2 separate sheets of plastic, forms mirror images of each other, and then welds them together, forming a hollow product with a small seam running down the middle. The process chosen depends largely on the intended use and essential properties of the finished product.
