Vacuum Forming

Vac Forming by Trifibre Ltd, offer the complete vacuum forming solution from tooling through to packaging. From our 70,000 sq. ft. factory in Leicester, we are able to supply large order quantities to either large organisations or individuals.

Our vacuum forming techniques can be applied to a number of different markets and industry types including medical, retail, packaging, aerospace, exhibition, education, automotive and much more! Vacuum forming is proving to be increasingly popular within point of sale (POS) display stands, medical and transit trays and the packaging industry. Our highly experienced and skilled vacuum forming team have over 30 years of experience and are able to offer honest advise in order to ensure the correct design solution is utilised for your project.

Our in house sales and design departments offer a complete consultation service to work with you to ensure your project requirements are successfully met at a competitive price.

What is Vacuum Forming?

Vaccum Forming Is a Simple and Cost Effective Form of Moulding Plastics through the process of heating a sheet of plastic and vacuuming it around a tool or mould to produce a variety of products from Prototypes, Storage Trays and Retail Display products to Vehicle Parts.

The Vacuum Forming Process:

Clamping frames are used to ensure the flat sheets of extruded plastics are held in place during forming. Bespoke frame sizes can also be designed to better suit your project brief.

A singer heater is used to heat plastic of a thickness up to 6mm and a twin heater is used to heat plastic sheets of up to 10mm thick. The heaters are infra-red generated, ensuring a uniform amount of heat is applied to the whole surface area of the plastic.

It is important to ensure that the plastic is properly cooled before being released. If the plastic is not properly cooled it could result in deformation or damage to the plastic. Fans are often used to speed up the cooling process.

Once the product has been cooled any excess material is removed. Any cutting, drilling and routing are required in the design is then completed using various techniques such as CNC Routing.

Cost Effective

Vacuum Tooling techniques have low tooling costs, low material costs and prototypes can be easily produced making it a cost effective method of manufacturing.


Prototypes

Prototypes can be easily produced at a low cost, reducing the chances of manufacturing issues, reducing the risk of manufacturing issues.


Reusable Tooling

Moulds and tooling can be easily reused for large order quantities and repeat orders, making it a cost effective method of production.


Bespoke Designs

Custom made designs can be implemented and can be further enhanced after production using CNC trimming techniques.


Machinery

VacForming by Trifibre Ltd, have invested heavily on modern plastic vacuum forming machinery and software to ensure state of the art facilities are available in order for us to produce innovative designs for our client briefs. As a result, our facilities paired with our highly experienced and knowledgeable team is what makes us one of the UK’s leading manufacturers.

A singer heater is used to heat plastic of a thickness up to 6 mm and a twin heater is used to heat plastic sheets of up to 10 mm thick. The heaters are infra-red generated, ensuring a uniform amount of heat is applied to the whole surface area of the plastic. The vacuum is then applied to the heated plastic, which consists of a vacuum pump used to draw the air from between the plastic and the mould. We also have CNC Routing machines and other tools available to remove any excess plastic and add cutting and drilling to the design.

Tooling

VacForming by Trifibre Ltd, can cater for all your tooling needs, the tool types available include aluminium, model board, resin and wood. Our in house customer service and sales team will advise you on the best tool material type to ensure that the correct design is utilities and avoid any manufacturing issues, taking into consideration the order quantity, the surface area, weight and thickness of walls.

Our in house design team are able to produce completely bespoke design solutions to meet your exact specifications. Within house state of the art facilities of Computer Aided Design (CAD), we can provide you with visuals of your design and prototypes before final production takes place. We will keep all your designs on file ready for your next order, proving to be a cost effective method of production.

Vacuum Forming

VacForming by Trifibre Ltd, have a team of highly skilled and knowledgeable staff with over 30 years of experience within the vacuum forming industry. Vacuum Forming involves forming a heated flat sheet of extruded plastic and applying this to a vacuum in order to be shaped by the tooling.

We can produce any frame sizes to match your project brief. We can also produce Formings with Plug Assist.

CNC Routing and Trimming

VacForming by Trifibre Ltd, also have in house operation of Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machines allowing us to design and manufacture tools and form and trim designs from start to finish.

Trifibre Ltd have heavily invested in state of the art CNC routing machinery, which helps us to complete projects with great accuracy and ensures project deadlines are met. These include Biesse Rover CNC, Morbidelli CNC Routed and SCM CNC.

The benefits of using CNC cutting techniques include:

  • The machinery can be used on virtually all of our tooling materials
  • We can produce samples and prototypes quicker
  • Uses our Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings, ensuring ultimate accuracy

Market sectors

Exhibition, Point of Sale (POS) & Retail Display

Exhibition stands, presentation stands, counter displays, self standing displays, cosmetic organisers, retail body forms.


Construction

Concrete pouring moulds, modelling, transit trays.


Agriculture & Conservations

Capping, Guards, Machinery Covers, Cladding, Vehicle Covers


Decorative & Signs

Ceiling Decorations, Ceiling Pattern Moulds, Covings, Car Top Signs (Taxi)


Automotive & Aerospace

Seat Accessories, Seat Covers, Roof Racks, Caravan Shower Products, Motor Home Panels, Motorcycle Huggers, Interior Vehicle Trim, Go Kart Bumpers, Engine Covers, Bonnets.


Medical, Maritime & Ministry of Defence

Medical Transit Trays, Tool Organiser, Radar Covers, Control Panels, Vehicle Applications, Equipment Storage.


Electronics & Engineering

Transit Trays, Protective Covers, Equipment Organisers, ESD Carrier, Transit Solutions, Control Panels.


Education & Leisure

Camping Equipment, Camping Accessories, Storage, Games, Visual Learning Aids, Stationary Trays.


An ISO 9001 Registered Company

We’re experts in aerospace packaging solutions with nearly 40 years of experience. Our in-house design and technical team take your project from concept to completion, all being managed with in our 70,000 sq ft UK based facility.

If you’d like to hear more, simply fill out a contact form, or call us on 0116 232 3166, or drop an email to [email protected]

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Happy customers since 1981...

We’re proud of all the work we do, be it large corporate supply, or a simple box for personal storage. Our decades of experience means we’re the best at what we do.

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