Vacuum forming allows for cost effective, flexible tooling. One of the real strengths of Vacuum Forming is the ability of the manufacturer to generate prototypes and tooling rapidly. With our comprehensive in-house tooling facility we generate all of our tooling quickly and efficiently, getting you your parts in a timely and cost effective manner.
Another benefit of having in-house tooling is that if design modifications arise, those changes can be made promptly. A small simple tool could take 4 hours to create, a large complex tool up to 3 weeks. When you bring us your drawing we will give you an honest assessment of how long the tooling and prototype process will take.
Tooling Materials
Each tool is made of di!erent materials, according to the expected lifecycle of the tooling and the cost considerations of the customer. Lemac Manufacturing frequently uses the following materials in the tooling process:
- WOOD: Wood tooling is cost effective and easily modified, making it ideal for prototyping and smaller production runs.
- ALUMINUM: Aluminum tooling tends to be more expensive, but is highly durable and excellent for use in mold designs that have intricate details and points of high pressure when being released from the mold.
- POLYESTER: Polyester resin tooling is fast curing and temperature tolerant, as well as being light weight. It works well for prototype tooling.
- HDPE FOAM: HDPE foam is dense foam which makes long lasting molds capable of long term use in production runs.
- EPOXY: Epoxies and resins can be used to cast molds with detailed surface areas and textures that would otherwise be hard to achieve.
- ALUMINUM FILLED EPOXY: Once mixed and cured, aluminum filled epoxy can be shaped into highly detailed and durable tooling.
Vacuum Form Tooling Design Requirements: We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, WE WILL ATTEMPT JUST ABOUT ANY PROJECT. That said, vacuum forming has some requirements to consider before you bring us your design. In vacuum forming one side of a plastic sheet is stretched and formed over either a male or female mold to form the part. This means that one side of the part must be free to escape the mold.
If you are unsure whether your design will work, please let us have a look, and we will let you know of it is right for the vacuum form process.