Every day you take advantage of plastic thermoforming in large and small ways. For example, if you were to go into your kitchen and open your silverware drawer, chances are there would be a tray there. If you’re the organized type, that tray probably has 4 or 5 raised partitions to separate spoons, forks knives, and other miscellaneous forms of cutlery. That tray was thermoformed. Sure, unless you are truly passionate about cutlery trays, it’s likely not a major part of your life – but it does make it easier.

If you ever played sports, you probably had to use a cup or a mouth guard at some point. Both products protected you in vital ways, preventing serious and possibly irreparable damage to parts of your body you generally want to remain undamaged. Again, thermoforming is to thank. So, what then is thermoforming?

Thermoforming is a manufacturing process that takes a plastic sheet and heats it so that it is pliable. That sheet is than shaped into a mold and trimmed to create a product. Typically, the plastic sheet or film is heated in an oven first, stretched onto or into a mold, and then cold to produce the finished shape.

On a small scale, a tabletop or small machine is used to heat small sections of plastic sheet for stretching over a mold using a vacuum. This is approach is typically used for small runs and custom prototypes. For large production runs, large computer controlled machines are used to maximize throughput and efficiency. These machines heat and form the plastic while also continuously trimming the formed parts. Compared to small prototype runs, advanced modern thermoforming machines are capable of manufacturing thousands upon thousands of parts per day.

In most thermoforming operations, a long plastic sheet of the desired material and color is roll-red into the machine where it is then heated to the appropriate temperature. The machine then moves the sheet from the oven to where it will be formed. In this section of the machine, the plastic sheet is either pushed onto the mold or into the mold with varying levels of pressure to produce the necessary level of detail.

Thermoforming using thin plastic sheets is frequently used for manufacturing disposable cups, medical packaging, and plastic clamshell packaging used virtually everywhere. Thick plastic thermoforming, on the other hand, is used to manufacture parts ranging from automobile components and home appliance liners to electronic components. Custom thermoforming on the can combine both, producing intricate parts and components in the shapes, sizes, and thicknesses needed for plastic components in virtually every industry.

Thick or thin, long or short – thermoforming produces so many of the things you interact with every day. How do you think the products you purchase and the products you use would be different without custom plastic thermoforming?