Thermoforming machine system solution
Thermoforming machine system solution
Higher precision, higher efficiency, and user-friendly design
Thermoformed products are made by heating and softening flat plastic sheets, then vacuum-forming them onto the surface of a mold and cooling them to shape. Thermoforming machines can be used in industries such as plastic packaging, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, and industrial cooling tower water distribution plates.
Industry background
Thermoformed products are made by heating and softening flat plastic sheets, then vacuum-forming them onto the surface of a mold and cooling them to shape. Thermoforming machines, also known as thermoplastic molding machines, use vacuum suction generated by vacuum pumps to extract thermoplastic sheet materials such as PVC, PET, PETG, APTT, PP, PE, PS, etc. The heated and softened sheets are then formed into various shapes, such as vacuum lids, or attached to the surfaces of products in various shapes. Thermoforming is divided into thin sheet thermoforming and thick sheet thermoforming based on the thickness of the sheet material.
Thermoforming machines can be used in industries such as plastic packaging, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, and industrial cooling tower water distribution plates. The annual output value of thermoforming machines has been increasing for several consecutive years. As the domestic economy enters a period of stable and sustained development, the industrial scale of thermoforming machinery is also expanding. With the entry of foreign thermoforming machine manufacturers, they have injected development vitality into the Chinese thermoforming machine industry, but also brought opportunities and challenges.
System principle
The main structure of a thermoforming machine consists of areas such as the feeding area, heating area, forming area, cutting area, stacking area, and waste material recycling area. It can be divided into three parts:
1. Heating and forming section: The electric furnace heats up, and there is a delay in the action of the furnace. After the heating is completed, the sheet is pulled by the servo motor. When the sheet reaches the specified position, the upper mold and lower mold servo motors start the forming action. After forming, the demolding cylinders, such as vacuum, water spray, and cold air, are used to demold the product. After demolding, the upper and lower molds return to the safe position according to the set delay time.
2. Cutting section: The sheet is pressed, and the dual servo motors reach the fixed position. Pressure is applied using the pressure cylinder, and then the cutting tool is activated. After the cutting action is completed, the cut sheets are sorted.
3. Feeding and unloading section with a robotic arm: The robotic arm is used for various positions such as standby, retreat, and material picking. It collects the cut sheets, stacks them, and then the conveyor belt transports them away.
Control plan
Thermoforming machine systems can be divided into two control schemes: bus control scheme and pulse control scheme.
The bus control scheme offers high accuracy, absolute value servo power-off position holding, simple wiring, strong anti-interference capability, as well as features such as alarm warning and torque monitoring.
The pulse control scheme has high compatibility and affordability, making it compatible with other mainstream servo products in the market.