Vacuum Forming

Parts produced by vacuum forming can be delivered in the required colour, gloss or matt, smooth or patterned – according to customer requirements.

Advantages of vacuum forming

The technology is most often used for series production ranging from hundreds of pieces per year to tens of thousands of pieces per year.

Very high quality surface of the part

Cheap production tools

High start-up speed of series production

Very good reproducibility

Technology and specifics of vacuum forming

MOST COMMONLY USED MATERIALS

ABS, ABS/PMMA, PE, HIPS, PS/PE, PMMA, PET, PETG, PC, PVC etc.

blends based on PC, PE, PS, PMMA – e.g. PS/PE or ABS/PMMA

filled and non-combustible materials, regenerates of all materials

Part SIZE

Up to 3 × 2 metres with a wall thickness of 1 to 10 mm

OTHER OPERATIONS

CNC cutting, welding, gluing

THE MOST COMMON APPLICATIONS

automotive, construction machinery, garden equipment, lighting equipment, technical covers

VF technology

We recommend vacuum forming especially for smaller and medium series production, preferably with final surface treatment, i.e. with a defined colour, pattern or surface quality at the paint level.

An advantage of vacuum forming is the low costs of development, construction and production tools, as well as very short start-up times. This advantage predetermines this technology for all fields where frequent changes in product design are required with a relatively high quality of production.

How does vacuum forming work?

The principle of the technology consists of heating the semi-finished plastic sheet to the forming temperature. This sheet is imprinted on the mould or into the mould while the perfect imprint is made using vacuum applied between the plate and the mould.

After forming the part shape, the part is machined on a 5-axis CNC unit. Using this device, precision parts can be made with a number of holes and shapes, with maximum reproducibility guaranteed.

If the type of application of the part so requires, parts can be welded or glued or assembled into larger units.

Colour and shape options

For very small series production and specific colour requirements, we can also paint parts according to customer requirements. Usually, however, the parts produced by vacuum forming are already produced in the desired colour and design.

Moulds used for the production of parts are most often made of aluminium (cast moulds or machined moulds). For prototype parts, it is possible to use moulds from cheaper materials such as MDF.

The materials used for vacuum forming are thermoplastics.