| vac forming - general |
| Q: Which method is most suitable for my part, injection moulding or vac forming ? |
| A:
This depends on your part. As a guide - use vac forming if parts thickness is uniform, A4 paper size or more & the annual quantities needed are low (10-5000) OR use injection moulding if parts wall thickness differs, is less than A4 paper size & annual quantities needed are medium-high (1000-100,000+) |
| Q: My vac forming part/s have been drawn on CAD, would the CAD files be of use to you ? |
| A: We can use them to carry out a quote, create tool drawing/s & even make vac forming tools saving you both time and money - DXF, DWG, IGES, Pro-Engineer, Parasolid & SolidWorks are all usable. |
| Q: I need a quote for vac forming quickly, what information do you need ? |
| A: Complete an Enquiry Form & we'll send you a Brochure Pack & Quote Request Form listing all the information we need OR e-mail a digital camera image with sizes, qty's etc OR simply contact us. |
| custom vacuum formed parts |
| Q: Which type of tool do you recommend for custom vacuum formed parts, wooden or aluminium ? |
| A: We recommend aluminium tools as they last longer, process quicker & produce higher quality vacuum formed parts than wooden tools and are better for clear or deep pocketed vacuum formed parts. However, for lower quantities or budgets, wooden tools can be made quickly & at lower cost. |
| Q: I've made a vac forming tool. If I send it to you, can you use it to make some custom vacuum formed parts for me ? |
| A: Provided the vac forming tool is finished well & has suitable draft angles, we should be able to use it to make your custom vacuum formed parts. |
| Q: I've got existing vac forming tools - Can you use them in your machines & make custom vacuum formed parts for me now ? |
| A: If your part/s are within our vac forming capacity, we should be able fit your tools in our machines & make your custom vacuum formed parts. |
| Q: Do you make custom vac forming tools for other companies to mould from ? |
| A: As long as the part/s are within our vac forming capacity & thus we're able to prove the tools, although we do prefer to make the vacuum formed parts as well. We do also modify and repair existing vac forming tools. |
| Q: Is it possible to have e.g. product identification, text instructions or logos on my custom vacuum formed parts ? |
| A: Text or logos can be engraved on vac forming tools to be either recessed or stood up on your custom vacuum formed parts, or it can be hot foil or pad printed on your custom vacuum formed parts after vac forming. Incidentally, this is possible for both vac forming & injection moulding. |
| Q: I need my custom vacuum formed parts to have a particular finish, is this possible ? |
| A: This depends on the material type & size that you need for your custom vacuum formed parts, but acrylic capped, brushed, carbon fibre effect, gloss, leathergrain, matt, mirrored, pinseal & UV stable finishes are available. |
| Q: Can you produce custom vacuum formed parts in different colours & materials ? |
A: Again, this depends on the material type & size you need for your custom vacuum formed parts, but black, clear, grey & white materials are freely available & there is a range of standard colours for HIPS material. Material can be colour matched to an existing part, but minimum quantities apply.
Various materials are available including ABS, HDPE, HIPS, PETG, PC, PP, PVC & STYROLUX. |
| Q: My existing custom vacuum formed parts were made in 1mm material but in places, they're less than 1mm thick. Is this normal ? |
| A: Whilst the plastic sheet may have been 1mm thick before forming, the vac forming process heats, stretches & forms these sheets over a wooden / aluminium tool in order to make the finished vacuum formed parts. This process reduces the vac forming in section, although this can be minimised by reducing pockets depths, using 5° - 10° draft angles on side walls & large (3 mm+) curves/radii on pockets and avoiding very narrow slots. |
| Q: My existing vac forming supplier has ceased trading & whilst I don't have the tool, I do have a sample vacuum formed part. Can you help ? |
| A: Provided the vacuum formed part is in good condition, we could use it to make a resin cast tool to save you time & money. |
| standard plastic trays |
| Q: My parts need protection from static & transit damage. Can you help ? |
| A: We can make antistatic standard & custom vacuum formed plastic trays for you or conductive plastic mouldings |
Q: I'm interested in your S1T60 standard plastic trays. Can you send me a sample ?
|
| A: Instead of sending samples, we make to order & have set the minimum quantity for standard trays very low at 15 so you can try the trays yourself. |
| Q: Re: sampler packs - Several of your S1Txx plastic trays seem suitable, but how many & which S1Txx standard trays do I get with a sampler pack ? |
| A: You get a total of 9 trays - any 3 styles from the S1Txx range with a minimum quantity of 3 of each tray e.g. 3 x S1T32, 3 x S1T60 + 3 x S1Txx lid |
Q: I need some trays for transporting pcbs and several of your standard plastic trays have pockets which look about the right size. If I confirm the pcb sizes and trays I'm interested in, can you confirm which of your standard plastic trays are suitable ?
|
| A: If you want to make sure these standard trays are suitable, please send us a pcb (a faulty one will be ok) and we’ll e-mail you a photograph of your pcb placed in one the pockets of the most suitable standard plastic trays. |
