- 10th February 2015
- Exhibitor Announcements, Manufacturing, Southern
- South2015
Tooling design backs up vacuum forming
Vacuum forming of plastic sheets 0.25 to 9mm thick is the speciality of Southern Manufacturing exhibitor FB-Avak. The company recently acquired a GEISS semi-automatic vacuum forming machine which enables material and moulding savings using quartz heaters to reduce cycle times using its 1500 x 1000mm adjustable bed size.
For prototypes, the company can import an edge curve from an existing model using a 3D measuring arm. This can be integrated with other data in the CAD programme to produce a programme for the five-axis machine centres used to manufacture the tooling. Prototype tooling can be produced quickly using this method or by importing CAD files.
Other operations that can be carried out are CNC trimming, die cutting, mechanical assembly, ultrasonic welding and gluing. Parts can be identified using screen printing and hot foil stamping.
A range of materials are available such as ABS, FR ABS, acrylic capped ABS and HIPS, and can be processed and can be colour matched to requirements. Alternatively clear mouldings can be produced using materials such as PETG, polycarbonate and extruded acrylic.
Meet FB-Avak on stand Q67 or go to http://www.fb-avak.co.uk/
