Refrigerator Plastic Thermoforming Part Freezer Parts

Vacuum Forming Process
Thermoformed — or as it is also called, vacuum formed — plastic is the state-of-the-art process to fabricate panels, covers, bezels, and housings that are appealing as well as durable and lightweight yet rather inexpensive.

In its entirety the process consists of six steps.
1. Mould and Tooling: A mold is designed, then fabricated with fixturing; this will allow, or enable secondary operations to facilitate, thermoforming process.
2. Heat the Flat Sheet of Plastic: A flat sheet of thermoplastic material is clamped into a frame, cycled into a heating chamber and heated to a pre-determined optimal temperature Figure 1-Top.
3. Drape the Hot Sheet of Plastic Over or Into a Mold: The pliable, heated sheet of plastic is then either draped into a female mold or over a male mold, and tiny vacuum lines in the mold draw out the air between the plastic and the mold, while normal atmospheric pressure pushes the softened plastic against the mold.
4. Removing the Formed Sheet of Plastic from the Mold: Once the sheet of plastic has taken the mold shape, cool it down and draw it from the mold then remove it from the clamp frame.
5. Trim the Part: With many molding processes there is some excess material on the edges of the part, that material is routed or trimmed off. If any additional machined features are called for, they are trimmed out.
6. Finish the Part: The part may be painted, screen printed or hot-stamped, and assembly - such as the attachment of hardware, subassemblies, cabling or wiring, electrical or electronic components, or other parts - is performed.
Vacuum forming is particularly well suited for large parts and moderate volumes. Tooling is less expensive, and prototyping can be much quicker than with alternative methods. To learn more about how to use vacuum forming for your application, please contact us.