It's easy to forget that just because we live and breathe thermoforming, not everyone else does--especially the people who come to us looking for guidance and expertise.
Lately, we've been getting a lot of inquiries about vacuum forming, specifically if it's something that we do and if it's different from thermoforming. So we thought we'd take this opportunity to provide you with a quick "Vacuum Forming 101" refresher. Hey, it is September after all!
Vacuum Forming 101
Q: What's the difference between vacuum forming and thermoforming?
A: There isn't one. Remember, thermoforming is a method of manufacturing 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.
Q: How does vacuum forming work?
A: Vacuum forming involves the automatic draping of a heat-softened plastic sheet over a female or male mold. This evacuates the sealed air space between the heated plastic and mold.
Q: When should I opt for vacuum forming as opposed to pressure forming?
A: Vacuum forming is perfect for your larger parts, for prototyping production parts, and for annual production runs of up to 10,000 units. We recommend pressure forming when your custom plastic enclosure requires features that cannot be achieved by vacuum forming alone. The pressure applied (up to 100 pounds per square inch) during pressure forming is approximately five times higher than with vacuum forming, which makes it possible to obtain highly detailed parts and textured finishes.
Q: Does vacuum forming cost more than pressure forming?
A: Many factors affect cost: the materials used, the complexity of the tool, and the number of parts are just some factors. The process itself--vacuum forming or pressure forming--doesn't have as much of an impact on overall costs as the other factors mentioned above.
ThermoFab in Action
Plastics' Role in the Human Genome Project
Challenge: Making Important Technology Accessible
Harvard Medical School's largest laboratory, The Church Laboratory, has a clear focus: to sequence human genes. The Human Genome Project is a charge that the Lab is driving to map as many individual genetic samples as possible for the further development of genetic-based discoveries. In order to broaden the number of scientists who can participate, the Lab needed to make its gene mapping technology available to the greater genetics community in an efficient, yet cost-effective manner. Gene mapping technology has been available, but at a price that many labs and independent researchers could not afford, thus eliminating valuable samples that would further the expansion of Harvard's Human Genome Project.
Solution: The Right Approach for "The Pollinator"
Since the beginning of the Human Genome Project, the approach to gene mapping has changed dramatically. Technological advances have made the process more efficient, to the point where large sequencing services now exist, with very specific areas of focus, such as disease specialties.
Harvard has designed a tool named "The Pollinator" that captures and processes the Lab's genetic samples. In order to garner as many genetic samples as possible from the widest universe, Harvard decided to market this technology and make it readily available to the greater genetics community.
"We designed the entire project from scratch," said Rich Terry, of Harvard's Church Laboratory. "Once the inside of the machine was complete, we were in search of a manufacturer to produce the enclosure itself--that brought us to ThermoFab."
ThermoFab knew that its unique thermoforming approach would be an excellent fit for Harvard's design. One key factor was the need for flexibility in color changes that would come from customer specifics down the road. Also, the intricate panel requirements were quite sensitive due to the nature of samples that the machine would house.
Results: Genetic Mapping Technology That's Open & Available to More Researchers
ThermoFab was able to produce the machine at a cost that allows Harvard to make their technology available at a lower price than their competition. Currently, two other companies exist that provide alternative genetic mapping technology solutions. This allows Harvard to meet their primary research goal of making genetic mapping as open and available to researchers who might otherwise not have access to it.
By doing this, Harvard provides hope for research discoveries that will allow the medical community to better understand the role that genetics play in the ongoing quest for good health, wellbeing, and cures for many life-threatening diseases. What more could you ask for?