MECHANICAL FORMING

Mechanical thermoforming is the process of taking a thermoplastic sheet and heating it to the proper temperature to form the sheet by means of direct mechanical force. In mechanical forming there is no vacuum or air pressure used to assist in the molding or forming of the thermoplastic sheet. A positive and negative tool is used to physically mold or form the thermoplastic sheet to the desired shape. After the thermoplastic sheet is formed, it is allowed to cool below the distortion or set temperature. After the part is cooled, it will be removed from the mold. Two mold halves are required for this process which makes tooling more expensive than some other thermoforming processes such as vacuum forming.