Thermoforming of Single and Multilayer Laminates: Plastic Films Technologies, Testing, and Applications

1

Introduction to Thermoforming

Thermoforming is a primary polymer conversion process in which a plastics sheet is heated to its rubbery state and by either mechanical or pneumatic means formed into a three-dimensional object. Today, it is one of the fastest growing segments of the plastics industry. This has been brought on by the development of new materials and techniques, coupled with innovative production and specialized equipment capable of providing manufacturing efficiency for the industry. The major advantages of thermoforming are its cost-effective thermoforming tools, reasonably priced thermoforming machines, the possibility for processing even multilayered materials, foams and preprinted forming materials. This chapter primarily gives an overview of the history of thermoforming, thermoforming markets and applications.

Keywords

Thermoforming; One-step forming; Vacuum forming; Keratin; Cellulose nitrate

Chapter Outline

1.1 History

1.2 Market and Applications

References

Success to any manufacturing process is directly linked to cost-effective production of parts, or at similarly high production costs, but at an improved part quality. There are areas of applications, where injection molding competes with thermoforming, but where packaging technology is concerned, thermoforming is the process of choice with little competition.

The shaping of plastic films and sheets has been known by many names over the years. Originally, shaping was considered one of a variety of fabrication techniques available to transform plastic sheets into finished products. The sheets-plastics industry has grown rapidly in recent years, and is still growing. The modification of older materials and the introduction of new ones led to new applications and new techniques being introduced, but the industry eventually settled on the term thermoforming.

Thermoforming is a primary polymer conversion process in which a plastic sheet is heated to its rubbery state and by either mechanical or pneumatic means formed into a three-dimensional object. Today, it is one of the fastest growing segments of the plastics industry. This has been brought on by the development of new materials and techniques, coupled with innovative production and specialized equipment capable of providing the manufacturing efficiency for the industry. The major advantages of thermoforming are its cost-effective thermoforming tools, reasonably priced thermoforming machines and the possibility for processing even multi-layered materials, foams and preprinted forming materials.

As the thermoforming process has become more important, emphasis has been focused on producing sheets to overcome thermoforming market demands. Most of the materials are available from suppliers as granules or as sheets. Sheets are commercially available in sizes required for producing parts. Thinner sheeting of many materials, produced by extrusion or calendering is available in rolls several hundred feet in length. Most suppliers provide data on the physical properties of their materials.

In principle every thermoplastic sheet can be thermoformed. However, high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) has become the resin of choice. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is also used, due to its toughness and low cost. Although you can find products made of polypropylene (PP), its low use rates are due to processing difficulties in both sheet extrusion and forming. Over the years, there have been major efforts to develop thermoformable grades of PP by modifying its molecular structure.

Some of the earliest thermoformed products were produced using one-step forming. In this approach, heavy-gauge sheets were simply heated until soft and then formed. The most common example of one-step forming is vacuum forming, which involves controlled heating of a thermoplastic material to a temperature where its shape can be molded. The physical change to the preheated thermoplastic is accomplished by the use of vacuum pressure. It is an economical process for producing large-sized, low-volume parts at a reasonable price.

The advantages of vacuum forming are the capability to form large parts without expensive equipment and tooling. Vacuum forming also allows for large production runs and inexpensive mold and design modifications. Other one-step forming processes include drape forming, free forming, non-uniform heating, matched-mold forming, autoclave forming and diaphragm forming [1]. For all deep-drawn parts, one-step forming yields parts with variable wall thicknesses.

To address issues with unacceptable thicknesses in deep-drawn parts, a two-step forming process was realized. It involves manipulation of a hot sheet prior to its contact with the mold surface. Although there are many two-step forming processes, pressure forming has been widely used in industry [1]. The sheet is locked in a frame around its periphery and is preheated to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. Positive air pressure is then applied by flowing compressed air against the top of the sheet to force it against the mold. Differential pressure across the sheet thickness can exceed 15 psi. Pressure forming offers a faster production cycle, greater part definition and greater dimensional control.

This chapter primarily gives an overview of the history of thermoforming. Then thermoforming market and applications are reviewed.

1.1 History

Thermoforming is considered one of the oldest methods of forming useful articles of plastic [1]. It is a simple approach to shaping sheets of thermoplastic materials. The plastic sheet is heated until it becomes soft and pliable. This hot, now flexible material is drawn against the steel mold until it cools. When cooled, the plastic retains the shape and details of the mold. Historically, keratin [2,3], a derivative found in tortoise shells (Fig. 1.1), was one of the first materials to be thermoformed. The Romans imported tortoise shell from the Orient and used hot oil to shape this thermoplastic material into food utensils. Later, Native Americans used natural cellulose to make canoes.

Figure 1.1 Tortoise shell [4].

Even though the technology was used, it was only applied to metal, glass and natural fiber. There were attempts made by researchers from across the world to form cellulose nitrate, but it wasn’t until the late 1800s that Hyatt thermoformed the first cellulose nitrate sheets into desired shapes. Celluloid baby rattles with intricate details were thermoformed in 1890 [5].

In the early twentieth century, more and more products were thermoformed. Sharps piano keys drape formed over captive wooden cores were formed in 1910. Development of thermoplastics (flexible PVC, PS, CA and PMMA) started in the early 1930s saw continued growth during and after World War II.

Thermoforming reached a new height with the development of acrylic aircraft cockpit enclosures, canopies, turrets, domes, relief maps and many other items that were vacuum formed. Bottles formed from two thermoformed halves were developed by Fernplas Corp. in 1933. In 1948, in England, cast acrylic bathtubs were thermoformed by the Troman brothers, and in 1954, skin-packaged products were first shown at hardware manufacturer association trade shows. During this period, PVC and cellulose acetate (CA) were the materials of choice [1]. During the era of industrial growth (1960s), major developments were made in the area of blister and food packaging. Danafilms developed blister packs made out of PVC and later copolymer, which had good thermoforming capabilities. Market share of thermoforming rose during this period.

In the beginning of the 1970s, high demand for thermoformed products created the need for high volume output. During this time, various scrap handling and reduction methods were introduced. This led to an increase in research and exploration of new machines and products. Borg-Warner Inc. introduced an idea to thermoform ABS car automobile body in 1970.

In the 1980s, as the market for thermoforming grew, more manufacturers started to seek revolution in technology. Pellet-producing and scrap-handling machinery were introduced, and the focus started to shift to improving quality and reducing cost. Viking Products introduced crystallizing polyethylene terephthalate for food reheat use in 1985.

During the early part of the twenty-first century, thermoforming rapidly expanded into a viable and profitable method of processing plastics. High demand for material led to development of three families of copolyesters for thermoforming: RPET/APET, PETG/Spectar™ Sheet/UltrosRenu™ and UltraTuf™CX/PCTG [6]. These copolymers can be thermoformed at lower temperatures, which significantly reduces cycle times.

Today heavy-gauge plastics are used as cosmetic surfaces on permanent structures such as kiosks, automobiles, trucks, medical equipment, material handling equipment, spas and shower enclosures and electrical and electronic equipment. With the growth of education and corporate enterprise, new engineering technologies have been invented to aid in the thermoforming process. Although the basic forming process is very similar to what was invented many years ago, microprocessor and computer controls on more modern machinery allow for greatly increased process control and repeatability of same-job setups from one production run to the next, usually with the ability to save oven heater and process timing settings between jobs.

Now the industry has become a powerhouse, bringing profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Huge companies such as Mayfield plastics, Thermo-Fab, Universal-Plastics and Lifetime have emerged. The market continues to expand in part because of the versatility and variety of products made. Table 1.1 shows a timeline of thermoforming events.

Table 1.1

Timeline of Thermoforming Events

1.2 Market and Applications

Consumption for thermoformed products was estimated at 7.0 billion pounds in 2012 and is projected to increase to 8.5 billion pounds by 2017. Packaging dominates 80% of the thermoforming market and the industry earned 4.9 billion pounds in 2012. It is projected to grow to nearly 6 billion pounds by 2017 [7]. Thermoformed products have been used in a variety of industries including the packaging, transportation, appliance industry, horticulture, recreation, photographic equipment and funeral industries. It is a common goal among thermoforming manufacturers to produce useful and desirable products that are salable. Thermoforming equipment manufacturers share this goal.

Typical applications for thermoformed products include:

• Packaging – New packaging markets continue to be in disposables with commercialization of foam products [8–11]. Fresh meat, eggs and fresh fruits and produce are prepackaged in thermoformed plastic trays and containers made out of polystyrene. It is a best practice to produce thermoformed containers close to where the food is prepared. This eliminates the need for shipping, temporary packaging and inventory costs. Medical components such as tools, syringes, needles, tubing and vials are packaged for hospitals, clinics or doctors’ offices (Fig. 1.2).

• Transportation – Most thermoformed components are used for interior finishing. Bus and train seats, aircraft seat backing and arm rests and fold-down tray tables are made by thermoforming. More and more automobile industries have been implementing thermoforming processes to manufacture automotive components. Trunk liners, glove compartments, door panels, guards, spoilers and hatchback window louvers are made using thermoforming techniques (Fig. 1.3) [12–14].

• Appliances – Today, all refrigerators and freezer door liners are thermoformed. Some dishwashers and clothes dryers, window air conditioners, humidifiers, computers and television cabinets are made by thermoforming (Fig. 1.4) [15–17].

• Recreation – Fishing boat hulls, canoes, sailboats and their components are made using thermoforming. In addition, contour windshields for boats, snowmobiles and motorcycle are produced by thermoforming (Fig. 1.5) [18–20].

• Funerals – Funeral flower trays and caskets are now produced by thermoforming rather than by traditional wood construction (Fig. 1.6) [21,22].

• Horticulture – All seedling plants are grown in trays made by thermoforming. These reusable trays last several growing seasons. These trays are inexpensive and produced mainly from recycled material. The other area of use is flowerpot production, which has switched from injection molding to thermoforming (Fig. 1.7) [23,24].

Figure 1.2 Thermoforming products used in the packaging industry [8–11].

Figure 1.3 Thermoforming products used in the transportation industry [12–14].

Figure 1.4 Thermoforming products used in the appliance industry [15–17].

Figure 1.5 Thermoforming products used in the recreation industry [18–20].

Figure 1.6 Thermoforming product used in the funeral industry [21,22].

Figure 1.7 Thermoforming products used in the horticulture industry [23,24].

References

1. Throne JL. Section 2 Understanding Thermoforming Hanser Verlag 2008.

2. Progelhof RC, Throne JL. Section 1.2 Polymer Engineering Principles: Properties, Processes, Tests for Design Hanser Verlag 1993.

3. McConnell W. The Oldest Infant. In: Bruins PF, ed. Basic Principles of Thermoforming. New York: Gordon and Breach; 1971;3.

4. Jens C. What are Tortoise Shell Rings for eHow Contributor 1999.

5. Dubois JH. 44 Plastics History U.S.A Boston, MA: Cahners Books; 1972.

6. Spartech Corporation, <http://www.spartech.com>.

7. BCC Research, Thermoformed Plastics: Technologies and Global Markets, <http://www.bccresearch.com/market-research/plastics/thermoformed-plastics-technologies-markets-pls047b.html>.

8. Wentworth Tech Inc., <http://www.wtbvc.com/whoweare.aspx>.

9. Brown Thermoforming, <http://www.brown-machine.com>.

10. DVG Packaging, <http://www.dvgpackaging.com/Specimen-Tray-Designs/Specimen-Tray-Designs-(1).aspx>.

11. Panic Plastics Inc., <http://www.panicplastics.com>.

12. Klein PW. Fundamentals of Plastics Thermoforming Morgan Claypool Publishers 2009.

13. ThomasNet News, <http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Thermoformed-Truck-Bumper-has-chrome-like-finish-25129>.