Your Questions Answered

1. Can you use our injection-molding files?

A. Yes. Our expert designers and manufacturers routinely work with clients who come to us with injection-molding files. We use these files to deliver the detail and quality you seek in an injection molded part at the volumes you require.

2. We aren’t working with a designer, but we have engineering specs. Can you help?

A. Yes. We can help you find the appropriate designer to turn your specs into the best design for manufacturing. Whether you have partial CAD files, partial concepts or a large project that requires industrial or tooling design, ThermoFab delivers product design services that work for your innovative concepts.

All of our designers have hands-on tooling experience so they fully understand our objectives and share our commitment to creating quality plastic enclosures that perform.

3. We have short time to market. How fast can you turn our product around?

A. This is where ThermFab excels. We can go from design to finished part in 4-6 weeks. The ThermoFab Technologies arm of our business consistently keeps us ahead of the competition in terms of fast turnaround times, flexible volumes, superior quality and unparalleled levels of detail.

4. I have worked with companies in the past that outsourced a lot of the work. What do you do in house and what quality controls do you have in place?

A. ThermoFab is proud to perform its design reviews, tooling, painting and shielding in house to offer maximum quality control and eliminate the risk of timeline mishaps, misinterpretation of your concept and other potentially expensive problems.

We also offer in-house custom assembly, custom painting and custom finishing services for your special needs.

Throughout your part’s manufacturing, ThermoFab performs inspections every step of the way using stringent quality controls. Operating inspections in the WIP cycle are conducted at each station your part travels through. We then offer a final inspection to ensure your product looks and performs exactly as you intended.

5. What is the difference between injection molding and thermoforming?

A. Thermoforming involves making custom plastic enclosures by preheating a flat sheet of plastic and bringing it into contact with a mold whose shape it takes. This can be done by vacuum, pressure and or direct mechanical force. The process offers close tolerances, tight specifications, and sharp detail for your custom plastic parts.

Injection molding involves taking plastic of your choice in the form of pellets or granules and heating this material until a melt is obtained. Then the melt is forced into a split-die chamber/mold where it is allowed to "cool" into the desired shape. The mold is then opened and the part is ejected, at which time the cycle is repeated again.

6. Can you match to a specific color?

A. Yes. ThermoFab uses a Dupont Spectramaster to ensure accurate color matching. Additionally, we offer a custom process to do specialized graphics and custom formulated colors to match your branding. View our portfolio to see the range of colors we can achieve.

7. Can you send me a sample?

A. Yes. Tell us what you’d like to see and we’re happy to send it. Request a sample.

8. I am a designer working with a firm that needs a product manufactured. How do I work with you?

A. It’s easy. If you have Pro/Engineer files, call us to discuss the best format for us to receive them. We can easily transfer native Solidworks and .igs. ThermoFab’s staff is comprised of industry veterans who bring a sensitivity to every design concept. We understand that parts need to function, but for many of our clients the look is as important as the functionality.

Working with ThermoFab, your products will look as good as they perform. With our understanding of and, unmatched, skills to reveal intricate details, undercuts, and mounting and attachment features, we’ll translate your art to part successfully and seamlessly.

9. Our parts have a lot of detail on the undercut. Can thermoforming achieve this?

A. Yes. Because our processes place significant detail into your part’s exterior surfaces using action in the tooling design, undercuts are achieved with crisp, clean lines producing an injection molded look. Our tooling techniques are revolutionary – creating sophisticated design lines and reveal detail, undercuts, and interior attachment features.

10. We need a small number of products produced. Can you handle low volumes?

A. Yes. We have clients who produce just a handful of large products, while others produce thousands of smaller products. ThermoFab has developed a niche in the market in terms of the volume flexibility we provide. From dozens of parts to thousands of parts, clients routinely tell us that, after calling other thermoforming companies, ThermoFab truly offers the lowest volume options with the fastest turnaround.

Our focus on lean manufacturing allows us to work with you based on how you plan your volumes through the year. Using a yearly blanket order with monthly releases, ThermoFab manages your deliveries with a 45-day rolling forecast. The forecast allows you to push-pull within a 45-day window, which gives you maximum flexibility to respond to market changes and growth within your product line.