What Is a Thermoforming Die?

Many manufacturers must mold their plastic to achieve their end component or product. Manufacturers in various industries, including the medical, packaging, labeling, agricultural and automotive sectors, rely on thermoforming to make their products.

Thermoforming is an ideal way to help your business create your finished project using precise and accurate molds. With the right materials, you can create accurate molds that help you achieve the perfect final product. Learn more about thermoforming, the manufacturing process, different types of molds and the benefits of thermoforming.

What Is Thermoforming?

Thermoforming refers to a plastic manufacturing process involving heating and forming a plastic sheet into a specific shape using a mold. The shape gets cooled and trimmed down to the finished component. Thermoforming uses a specific machine to heat and stretch thermoplastic sheets and place them over the mold. Modern thermoforming machines can typically handle trimming and cutting, while traditional machines require cooling and trimming to be handled externally.

Several different types of thermoplastics are used in thermoforming, including the following:

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• Polystyrene
• Polycarbonate
• Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
• Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG)

The material you choose depends on your specific manufacturing project and the characteristics you need from the item you produce. Thermoforming is used for manufacturing various products, including pharmaceutical, agricultural and consumer products. Thermoforming can also create durable end-use components, including automobile interiors, aircraft components, medical equipment and material handling equipment.

Thermoforming enables manufacturers to create products affordably and quickly, whether you need a limited or bulk amount.

Thermoforming Manufacturing Process

A thermoforming machine is essential for manufacturing, helping plastics reach flexible temperatures so they can be molded into the final product. The thermoforming process must be completed accurately and precisely to ensure manufacturers can produce quality products and parts. Any errors in the process can lead to damaged, deformed and useless plastic sheets. The typical thermoforming process is as follows:

1. Heating Thermoplastic Sheets

The first step of the process is to heat the thermoplastic sheets so they are flexible. First, the thermoplastic is clamped to a holding device and transported into the heating equipment, allowing the plastic to rise to a forming temperature. The thermoplastic is heated by contact heating, infrared heaters or circulating hot air. The heating process is essential, but the type of heating system depends on the type of thermoplastic, your applications and the forming technique.

2. Forming Thermoplastic Sheets

Once the thermoplastic is heated, it’s removed from the heating equipment and transported to the molding tool. The heated plastic sheet takes the shape of the mold cavity, which is the desired form of the finished component or product. The mold tool can vary based on its form:

• Positive tool: A positive tool is convex-shaped, and the plastic is laid over the top of the mold, allowing the plastic to achieve its final shape.
• Negative tool: A negative tool is concave-shaped, and the plastic is placed on the mold’s interior surface.

Once the plastic is placed inside the mold, the shape solidifies using liquid cooling or air circulation systems. The mold type affects what kind of cooling cycle you use and the quality of the parts. Additional shaping steps may be required, which can include processes such as cutting, drilling or finishing.

3. Trimming Formed Sheets

After the thermoplastic sheets have been cooled, the excess or deformed parts are trimmed away from the final product. The plastic sheet that needs trimming typically goes through a trim station where a die separates the trimmings from the final product. The trimmings are usually recycled and reprocessed to form more products.

Types of Thermoforming Dies

Creating thermoformed products starts with using the right tools and thermoforming cutting dies. Thermoforming dies help produce high-quality products and create consistently precise thermoformed packaging with crisp lines, textures and edges.

There are two main types of thermoforming dies — solid and flexible.

Solid Dies

Solid dies have a permanent design that’s permanently placed on a solid steel cylinder. These dies are built to last and are more durable and rigid. Solid dies are ideal for intense production environments, especially when working with strong metals or high pressures. You can sharpen these dies to make them last longer. Solid dies work best with tough materials, such as:

• Metals
• Gaskets
• Abrasives
• Substrates with multiple layers or adhesives

Since you can use different types of steel for solid dies, these dies are slightly more customizable than other options. Solid dies can also support specific treatments, such as coatings and heat treatments.

Flexible Dies

Flexible dies involve steel sheets connected to a strong magnetic cylinder. Flexible dies are used with less rigid materials, such as films, flexible substrates and paper. These dies are easy to change out and work well with some of the most commonly used materials.

Flexible dies require a magnetic shell or cylinder to work. You may also need a specially treated flexible die if you work with more difficult materials, such as abrasive substances or matte paper.

Benefits of Using Pre-Hardened Solid Steel Dies

Using pre-hardened solid steel dies has many benefits for manufacturers and end users. Dies from Best Cutting Die offer several advantages, including the following:

• Superior steel quality: Pre-hardened solid steel dies produce more precise, higher-quality cuts to improve profits and productivity. The steel used in these dies can also endure longer, high volumes of production than traditional steel. Best Cutting Die uses harder steel than other manufacturers, meaning it can last longer before needing to be sharpened.
• Interchangeable: We finish our cutting dies using CNC machinery to create drill mounting hole patterns on the back of the die. This process makes the backs identical so they are interchangeable on the mounting plate.
• Double sharpening capabilities: Best Cutting Die tempers our cutting dies with salt baths up to a depth of 20-25 millimeters. The additional depth allows our products to be sharpened twice as much as other manufacturers’ dies.
• Improved durability and resilience: We use chrome plating and finishing on our dies, which help increase hardness, lubricity and rust-proofing. Our dies are also dipped in wax for additional protection.

The benefits of thermoforming can help you manufacture the parts you need without getting involved in more complex and expensive processes. The right cutting dies and thermoforming processes can help you create durable, high-quality thermoplastic products or parts to meet your requirements. Thermoforming is one of the best ways to handle thermoplastics and create the perfect shape.

Contact Us Today to Learn More About Our Die-Cutting Technology

Best Cutting Die is a die casting company that creates parts by forcing molten metal into your chosen mold by using high pressure. We have over 50 years of experience as cutting die manufacturers and offer some of the industry’s best die-cutting solutions. Our expert engineers will work with your die design and create a reliable tool that produces your desired results.

We also offer various services to our clients, including expert advice and training, engineering services, custom design and more. Contact us today to learn more about how our processes can help you achieve your thermoforming goals!