Investigation on the processability of sheets for thermoforming

Abstract

Thermoforming is typically used for the production of packaging articles as well as technical parts. The range of the materials which can be processed has increased significantly in the last years. In addition, different developments of machine technologies has opened up new areas of applications and increased the productivity of the machines. Because of that, the understanding of the influences of different material properties on the thermoforming process is of great interest. Not only the material properties, but also the various machine technologies must be taken into account. In this article, the influences of different material properties on a reference thermoforming process are shown, using various packaging films. To evaluate the processability, the thermal and deformation properties of the films were correlated with the results of thermoforming tests. So material properties that have an influence on the processability and also on the product quality can be identified. Also it is shown that in addition to the heating and forming process, secondary process steps such as film transport have an influence on the processability.