We had so much positive feedback from an issue we ran last summer that we thought we'd update it and re-run it this month, just in case you missed it!
Basically, it's a primer on common terms you're likely to encounter in the thermoforming industry. Enjoy, and here's to the last weeks of summer!
Thermoforming Glossary
Plastic Enclosures
A custom plastic exterior cover that is manufactured by thermoforming, pressure forming, vacuum forming, or injection molding. The plastic enclosure surrounds and covers electronic or electromechanical devices used in the medical, industrial, or computer industries.
Thermoforming
Method of manufacturing plastic parts by preheating a flat sheet of plastic and bringing it into contact with a mold whose shape it takes. Heavy Gauge thermoforming or Thick Gauge is geared to methods using .060 thick material and up. Learn more about heavy gauge thermoforming vs. thin gauge thermoforming and custom thermoforming.
Vacuum Forming
Automatic draping of a heat-softened plastic sheet over a female or male mold. Learn more about vacuum forming.
Pressure Forming
Thermoforming technique that involves forcing a heat- softened plastic sheet against a mold, usually female, by introducing compressed air to the backside of the heated sheet. Learn more about pressure forming.
Injection Molding
Process that involves heating plastic pellets or granules until a melt is obtained. The melt is then delivered to a split-die 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. Read about injection molding versus thermoforming.
CAD
Stands for computer-aided design and refers to technology used for designing a wide variety of products. The beauty of CAD is that you get a better sense of three dimensions than you would on drafting paper or sketches alone. At ThermoFab, we provide CAD file assessments.
Drum-Buffer-Rope
A production planning technique that helps manufacturers create production schedules that are protected from the adverse effects of "Murphy's Law" events. Learn more about DBR and lean manufacturing.
Secondary Operations
Addition of inserts, mesh, and other features to custom plastic enclosures. At ThermoFab, our revolutionary process puts more detail in the original part reducing the requirement for secondary operations.
See thermoforming in action. Schedule a tour of ThermoFab today, and we'll discuss your project's needs.
ThermoFab in Action: Customer Stories
Challenge: Making Design Dreams Come True From Prototype to Production
Breakthroughs in product design and production in order to reduce time to market are critical. The last thing stopping an innovative forward thinking company on the brink of producing a truly revolutionary product should be time constraints. This was an important concern facing The Weather Channel and it's integration partner Transparent Technologies.
This new adventure of making the jump from metal to plastic was a work in progress for TWC. A new branded look for the servers was in the rendering stage. Because of the sensitivity of the IntelliStar ® HD Bezel Product Design - the prototype to production premise had to be flawless. TWC had never taken this sort of jump from metal to plastic before. The units needed to create a branded look for The Weather Channel. Metal was not going to cut it and a plastic bezel front was just what the server needed to add "curve" appeal.
Solution: ThermoFab's In-House Engineering, Tooling, & Painting Cut Down on Time to Market
ThermoFab helped TWC with the manufacturing of marketing prototypes by creating a look that matched the designers needs along with the engineering managers expectations and budget. ThermoFab manufactured marketing prototypes to determine design details, initial production and full scale production to meet product launch dates. ThermoFab's manufacturing process worked well with The Weather Channels vision for its product. Timing was a critical factor.
Results: A Production Partnership Worth Duplicating
A breakthrough server bezel product--delivered on time and on budget! What more could you ask for?
Click through here to read other customer stories on the ThermoFab website.