Thermoforming, Volume 2

Free-forming

This acrylic rod is bent to hold index sized cards as part of a florist's display.  This kind of thermoforming is very loose, low tolerance work.  It can be done with fairly high precision with the use of cooling fixtures, however most often it is not.  This kind of forming is also reserved for short run jobs where tooling required for more precision work is not cost effective.

Light Fixture Replacements

This light lens is a replacement part for what is now an obsolete part from the manufacturer.  Often times is it less expensive to replace light fixtures than to replace lenses, but for specialty fixtures, replacement lens are a cost effective repair option. It is made by creating straight thermoformed bends into a piece of prismatic acrylic.

ABS Thermoforming

This carrying case is large and heavy, vacuum formed with a custom PMS color matched ABS.  This case is aluminum hinged with steel latches, built for durability and years of use in the emergency medical field.

Pushing the Design Envelope

This case is designed for medical equipment and is fabricated with several different methods including a thermoformed outer case and inside compartment.  Both the top and bottom halves are machined.  The lid is split with an aluminum hinge in the middle.  The inside piece has cutouts which are machined, but other pieces are also assembled to the formed part.  After assembly this piece had unavoidable gaps which were filled with a two part epoxy putty, and sanded. The whole unit was then painted with a two part textured paint.