Plastic Fabrication - Design to Production
Toolcraft Plastics in Swindon, Wiltshire now offer a complete plastic fabrication service. Our experienced engineers can help you with the initial product design right through to production & installation.
Plastic fabrication is done by heating, forming & welding sheets of thick plastic together in order to make the products required. Holes & bosses can be made for lids, handles, axes, hose access, temperature probes & heating elements.
Fabricated products can be made watertight using plastic beading. Filler tanks & hoses can also be attached to specification, with clips and mounts for hoses and pipes.
Fabrication is ideal for fairly complicated products that are impossible to make with other methods - for example no draft angles are needed in fabrication & undercuts can be achieved. Production runs wouldn't normally exceed the low hundreds.
Examples can include simpler plastic water tanks, but also much more complicated setups:
- The internal workings of gas scrubbers;
- Insulated tanks;
- Waterfed pole tanks;
- Cichlid breeder tanks;
- Electroplating tanks.
Our experienced designer and fabricator will either work to your own design, or make careful note of your requirements and come up with a suitable design for your approval. Where needed, we can supply CAD drawings. Once approved, the plastic fabrications will be made quickly and efficiently.
Plastic Fabrication Materials
Many plastic fabrications are done in strong Copolymer Polypropylene, because it has excellent resistance to impact, chemicals and temperature. We can also weld PVC, HDPE, Polycarbonate, ESD conductive & much more. We are able to advice the pros and cons of these materials with you, depending on your application.
What are the advantages of fabrication compared to injection moulding or vacuum forming ?
- You can have a fully custom product without needing to invest in a mould or vacuum forming tool
- You can add all sorts of features which may not be achievable or be very expensive in moulding or forming
- You can have a product in much thicker materials than possible in vacuum forming. Injection moulding can achieve very thick walls, but large moulding machines would be needed, driving up cost
- You can have a product in a day !
When should I choose injection moulding or vacuum forming instead ?
- Vacuum forming or injection moulding is much more economical if you need more product
- Some products simply cannot be made by fabrication - think small, thin, high level of detail
- If you need small parts that need high repeatability and low tolerances injection moulding is the right choice
- For lightweight & thin trays and covers, vacuum forming is the way to go
When you're ready to try our excellent service,
