10 Products Made By Vacuum Thermoforming
In our previous blogs, we’ve highlighted some of the industries and vacuum thermoforming products we work with at Global Thermoforming. We’re proud to say that you may have interacted with one of our thermoformed pieces in the last 24 hours!
This month, we’d like to introduce the versatility of our processes by telling you about 10 products made with vacuum and pressure thermoforming. It’s a wide range, and it’s a great example of what we can achieve with our thin and thick-gauge capabilities and range of secondary operations.
Ready to stretch your imagination about what we can do here at Global? Let’s jump in!
Aerospace Industry
Our projects with aerospace industry clients range from actual aircraft interiors to helping your luggage move around the airport. Utilizing materials such as Kydex, Boltaron, and Royalite, we produce items that meet quite exacting specifications. Air travel requires interiors that are not only durable, lightweight, and easy to sanitize – but also fire resistant. You’ll see our work in features such as overhead storage bins, lighting fixtures, and armrests. These items have been produced for known companies in this industries such as American Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
On the ground, our thick-gauge thermoformed luggage totes stand up to the wear and tear that accompanies luggage and handling. If you’ve seen your suitcases tumble down a conveyor belt, you know how important it is for high-quality trays and bins to contain items! We also work with companies in the airline industry to supply handling trays for large freight and other items used behind the scenes.
Agricultural Industry
If you don’t associate growing things with thermoformed plastics, we’re here to broaden your horizons! Not surprisingly, the business of turning seeds and sprouts into plants and more can be wet, messy, and open to the elements. Global Thermoforming helps our clients by manufacturing products that keep the weight of growing trays and tubs down and their maintenance to a minimum.
Pressure and Vacuum thermoforming is perfect for producing the details needed in these products: from the drainage grooves built into the bottom of the flat trays for seedlings to the exact tolerances needed to ensure that the items stack when they’re not in use. From lids to tubs, they’re capable of handling greenhouse environments and outdoor use. They can also be cleaned and sterilized. You can see an example of some of our work within this industry with products such Scott’s Miracle Grow/Botanicare trays.
Automotive Industry
Although we think of vehicles as metal objects, they use many thermoformed plastics on both their interior and exterior. Thick-gauge items help keep down vehicle weight, improve safety, and provide parts for Nissan, TRW, and Calsonic. The process of thermoforming can produce the kinds of intricate designs that are required for single panels and spots like instrument panels.
Even non-traditional vehicles use thick-gauge thermoformed plastics for new and replacement parts. Just like cars and trucks, UTVs and Recreational Vehicles require easy-to-clean surfaces and safe, lightweight plastics such as TPO and Acrylic-Capped ABS. These are used for exterior panels, console covers, and other after-market custom pieces that add function and enhance appearance. We also manufacture parts handling trays for factory and warehouse use.
Electronics Industry
Our capabilities for forming custom enclosures, packaging inserts, shipping trays, and large materials handling trays has also helped us earn clients in the electronics industry. Vacuum forming, and our high tolerances, allow us to create detailed packaging that conforms to even intricate part contours. These showcase and highlight individual products with clear clamshells, blister packs, as well as in clear or colored display trays.
For large manufacturers, we utilize our expertise with thick-gauge product creation to supply handling trays. These reduce downtime and speed workflow by allowing stacking and continual reuse in industrial settings. They can also withstand abuse and heavy item weights with well-engineered design and durable materials.
Food Industry
Our long-term work with the various facets of the food industry covers many items that you’ll encounter throughout your day. Next time on your regular trip to the grocery store you’ll notice that clear clamshells made of thin-gauge plastics are essential for packaging desserts, produce, and more on the shelves and in the refrigerated sections. We utilize our precise trimming and forming processes to make lightweight products that allow airflow and ensure firm closures. Similarly, we manufacture “green” plastic egg cartons that provide product visibility and protection.
If you stop off at a coffee shop – maybe even the Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts next to your favorite grocery – you’ll likely get your cup with a lid. Global works with thin-gauge plastics to supply our food industry clients with covers that stack closely, work perfectly with standard cup shapes and sizes, and protect customers from spills.
Medical Industry
The need for cost-effective supplies and products in the medical industry has been transformed by using thermoformed plastics. Our products reduce the need for sterilization and reduce cleaning time. Additionally, we can manufacture components in chemical-resistant materials that are extremely durable and high-quality.
You’ll see our products in all areas of healthcare: Mobile X-ray equipment that’s easy to transport and sterilize, in single-use components that fit precisely with each use, on hospital carts that contain essential supplies for all kinds of procedures, and even on the tabletops used by patients and staff. Global Thermoforming has also stepped up to do our part during the current pandemic by manufacturing reusable and single-use face masks with thin-gauge plastics.
As you can see, you may have had some first-hand experience with one of our vacuum thermoformed products recently! If you’re thinking about a new idea for a thin or thick-gauge plastic component, we can discuss which of our capabilities would best suit your needs, whether that’s using tooling, mold making, or any step of the thermoforming process! With over 30 years in the industry, we’ll have a solution to your thermoforming needs.
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Whatever your manufacturing needs may be, Global Thermoforming can put our engineering, design, and manufacturing expertise to work for you.
