The highly versatile pressure forming process utilizes air pressure, from 20 to 150 psi, to force the heated sheet into a temperature controlled aluminum die. The final part features sharp definition of intricate contours and tight radii with a look and feel once only possible with injection molding. Textures and accurate details are built right into the tooling. Low-cost, highly aesthetic plastic parts of varying sizes are possible due to the application of air pressure, as well as more sophisticated process controls that better monitor tool and sheet temperatures while controlling material shrinkage during forming. Pressure forming achieves features beyond the capabilities of vacuum forming including louvers, ribs, recessed areas, crisp details and logos. Pressure forming is ideal for small to medium sized production runs that do not justify the high cost of injection molding dies. Additionally, because the aluminum tooling used in pressure forming has an unlimited lifecycle, due to the non-abrasive process versus injection, it saves a great deal of money over many years of continued use. Pressure form tooling usually costs less than 10% the cost of an injection tool. There is also a significant time savings (sometimes 25%) in tooling lead time. Sheet gauges .020" - .500" are capable of being pressure formed.
Part created after pressure forming.

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