Thermoformed plastic products are found nearly everywhere including the home, grocery stores, medical offices, industrial facilities, and more. The process produces durable, lightweight plastic components quickly and consistently. Thermoforming excels at the creation of mass-produced, intricately detailed products with a fast lead time and at a low cost.
The thermoforming market is experiencing dynamic growth, according to Research and Markets. Thanks to the surge in online retail and its demand for reliable and secure packaging, the market has expanded from a valuation of $48.76 billion in 2023 to a growth trajectory of $70.85 billion in 2028.
How Thermoforming Works
Thermoforming is actually a catch-all name for the manufacturing techniques used to process plastic sheets into products. All thermoforming processes use heat to stretch and form sheets of plastic materials into specific shapes. Once cooled the products are trimmed to create the finished part.
Two of the most popular thermoforming techniques are vacuum forming and pressure forming.
- Vacuum forming, like its name implies, uses a vacuum to force the heated sheet of plastic up against the mold, creating a shape. The vacuum forming process is simple, fast, and very cost effective.
- Pressure forming also uses a vacuum to force the sheet up against the mold but adds pressure to ensure the plastic holds its shape. This process can produce highly durable products with fine details.
Benefits of Thermoforming
Thermoforming offers many advantages over other plastic processing like injection molding or blow molding. Thanks to low tooling costs and efficient use of materials, the method is very cost effective. Rapid production times and minimal labor requirements also help keep production costs down.
Thermoforming offers a lot of design flexibility. Depending on the process, thermoforms can produce simple shapes or highly precise, intricately detailed pieces with unique textures. This flexibility allows thermoformed products to be used in a variety of industries like automotive, medical equipment manufacturing, packaging, consumer goods, and agriculture.
Components produced by thermoforming are lightweight. This helps make the final product lighter and easier to handle. Despite being lightweight, thermoformed products are exceptionally durable. The process ensures consistent material thickness and structural integrity, so components can reliably stand up to outdoor elements and daily wear and tear.
Thermoforming Suppliers and Kaivac
Thermoforming companies are found throughout the United States. Part of the light manufacturing sector, these businesses create common and specialty plastic goods for everyday and specialty use. Expert Roto Molding, a Division of Kaivac®, has been creating high-quality thermoformed products in Clermont County, Ohio since 1969.
Kaivac, makers of innovative cleaning machines, partnered with the family-owned business early on. The company was the primary vendor for the plastic body parts found on all Kaivac systems. In 2022 Kaivac acquired the company, bringing a large part of its supply chain in house.
As a division of Kaivac, Expert Roto Molding will continue to serve their customer base while benefiting from their parent company’s management expertise. “The unification of our companies will enhance each other,” says Kaivac CEO Bob Robinson Sr.
Click here to learn more about Expert Roto Molding.