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Vacuum / Thermoforming

Vacuum Forming & Thermoforming.

Large, thin-walled parts formed from sheet — heavy-gauge, cut-sheet, and rotary forming up to 8.5 feet, with in-house CNC tooling and secondary trim.

ISO 9001:2015Made in USAEst. 1992
Thermoformed vented plastic tote produced from sheet stock
Formed tote
Overview

Big parts, lower tooling.

Thermoforming heats a plastic sheet and forms it over a tool. It's the economical route to large parts — tooling costs a fraction of an injection mold, so it pays off at lower volumes.

Heavy-gauge forming handles structural covers and panels; cut-sheet and rotary forming cover everything from trays to enclosures up to 8.5 feet.

  • Parts up to 8.5 ft. Large covers, panels, and enclosures.
  • Wide thickness range. .040″ to .500″ and beyond.
  • In-house CNC tooling. Form tools built and refined in-house.
  • CNC secondary trim. Precise, repeatable trimming.
How it works

From print to formed production.

01

Design & tooling

We build form tooling in-house and tune it for your part.

02

Sheet selection

Material and gauge matched to the application.

03

Forming

Heavy-gauge, cut-sheet, or rotary forming.

04

CNC secondary trim

Trimmed to net shape with CNC precision.

05

Finishing & assembly

Finishing and assembly as required.

Applications

Where it fits.

  • Large covers & panels. Structural, lightweight enclosures.
  • Equipment housings. Machine and instrument shrouds.
  • Trays & packaging. Formed trays and protective packaging.
  • Structural enclosures. Big parts at low tooling cost.
Common materials. ABS, HIPS, PETG, polycarbonate, acrylic, and TPO.
In production

On the floor.

Real parts and tooling, produced through our U.S. manufacturing partner network.

Large thin-walled thermoformed plastic tray
Thin-wall tray
Batch of vacuum-formed plastic housings staged in the Plastic Alternatives facility
Formed housings
FAQ

Common questions.

When should I choose thermoforming over injection molding?
For large parts or lower volumes, thermoforming's low tooling cost usually wins. For small, high-volume precision parts, injection molding is typically better — we'll advise based on your part.
How large can you form?
Up to 8.5 feet, in material thicknesses from .040″ to .500″ and beyond.
Do you trim the formed parts?
Yes — we trim to net shape with in-house CNC secondary trimming.

Ready to quote it?

Send your part or print for vacuum / thermoforming and we'll turn a quote around quickly.