PLI manufactures custom plastic parts to our customer’s specifications. We have a wide variety of processes including vacuum thermoforming, pressure thermoforming and assembly. We use our experience to solve problems and to research materials and services to complete some of the finest items in the industry today.

Vacuum Thermoforming

Thermoforming is a manufacturing process used for making thermoplastic sheet or film. In this process thermoplastic sheet is formed into three-dimensional shapes by clamping the sheet in a frame, heating the sheet to make to soft and then applying differential pressure to make the sheet conform to the shape of a mold or die. The sheet or film is heated between infrared, natural gas or other heaters to its forming temperature.

This is molded around a wood, structural foam or cast/machined aluminum mold and can form to almost any shape. Vacuum forming is also appropriate for transparent materials such as acrylic which are widely used in applications for aerospace, furniture, electronic enclosures and numerous other applications.

Pressure Thermoforming Services

PRESSURE FORMING - is a process that closely resembles vacuum forming. As in the vacuum forming process, a flat thermoplastic sheet is formed into a 3-dimensional part. However, the pressure used in pressure forming is about 3 times that of the pressure required for vacuum forming. The benefits of the pressure forming technique are: sharper edges and corners; greater detail possible; lower tooling cost than injection molding.