Manufacturing and Production

Thermoforming and Rigid Packaging Production

Thermoforming distributes a fixed sheet thickness over a shape, so the deepest part of the part is always the thinnest, and a design that ignores that produces containers that fail where they are loaded. This course starts from the material distribution. Delegates work through sheet properties, extruded sheet quality and the moisture and orientation that affect forming. Heating is covered, including radiant heat transfer, sheet sag and the temperature window a polymer forms within. Forming methods follow across vacuum, pressure and plug assist, with the wall distribution each achieves. Mould design and cooling are addressed. Trimming is covered across in line and off line methods, with the tolerance each holds. Scrap and regrind are addressed, since skeletal waste is a large share of the material. Defects are diagnosed: webbing, chill marks, thin corners and poor detail. Stacking, nesting and denesting follow. The course closes on part performance testing and on tooling for a new pack.