| Are you aware that some of the things we use in our | | | | - Lower costs of production |
| everyday lives are plastics? When we talk about | | | | - Great and unique design |
| convenience, durability, efficiency, stability, usefulness | | | | - Firmly and nicely furnished |
| and practicality in the things we use nowadays, | | | | - Shorter time for production |
| chances are, those things are made out of plastic. | | | | - Can work on any type of weather conditions, high |
| One example of this is Zip-lock plastic bags for storing | | | | and low temperatures. |
| foods. Another one is the Coleman or Rubbermaid | | | | 2. History |
| coolers we use to keep preserve foods while | | | | Thermoforming is one of the oldest plastic |
| camping outside or going out of town and water jugs | | | | manufacturing procedures. In the year 1890, baby |
| to keep our beverages cool and a handy gadget | | | | rattles and teething rings were formed out of plastics |
| outdoors. And a lot more of plastics used for | | | | using the thermoforming procedure. In 1930 some |
| everyone's convenience. But these are not just | | | | developments were made in the plastic materials; but it |
| ordinary plastics! Plastic is... | | | | never grew sucessful until the 1930's in Europe. |
| - Durable | | | | 3. Process Categories |
| - Reliable | | | | Thermoforming has two general process categories |
| - Tough | | | | called the thin gauge and the so called heavy or thick |
| - Helpful | | | | gauge. Thin gauge is used for thin sheets of plastics |
| - Easy to use | | | | and can be directly processed with regulated |
| - Low in cost | | | | temperature. Unlike the heavy or thick gauge, the |
| 1. Thermoforming | | | | plastic used there is thicker than the thin plastic sheets |
| Thermoforming is one of the procedures being done | | | | and it still need to cut into pieces before being |
| to manufacture plastic. A plastic sheet or film is used | | | | processed. Instead of using the regulated temperature |
| that can be easily soften up when heated and | | | | for thin plastics sheets in order to form a product, the |
| becomes hard again when it cools down. The kind of | | | | temperature is higher than the regulated temperature in |
| plastic used in Thermoforming can undergo melting and | | | | heavy or thick gauge. |
| freezing without changing its chemical state and it can | | | | Heavy or thick gauge was formed during the World |
| be re-used. The plastic sheet or film is heated | | | | War II on aircraft windscreens and machine gun turret |
| between specialized heaters in order to form the | | | | windows in aircrafts. Today, heavy or thick gauge |
| product with its usual temperature range. Then it is | | | | parts are used in permanent structures as additional |
| placed in a temperature regulated metal table or | | | | parts in cars, trucks, refrigerating units, bathroom |
| molder until it is cooled down. The plastic formed from | | | | accessories such as showers, plastic faucets, plastic |
| the molder will be taken out of the sheet. Used or | | | | doors and toilet seats, electronic and electrical |
| excess plastic sheets are being recycled in order to | | | | equipment. |
| form new plastic products out of it. | | | | It is a big benefit for companies who use these kind of |
| It is a technological breakthrough for its: | | | | procedure for their plastic products it's lower costs, |
| - Reliability | | | | durability, usefulness, and productivity. It also weighs |
| - Convenience | | | | less than other ordinary and special types of plastics. |
| - Easier to produce | | | | Of course, it's also helpful for the consumers and |
| - Ability to form small and large objects for that | | | | users of this kind of plastic. |
| specific product | | | | |