What types of tooling are used in thermoforming?
Three types of tooling are commonly used: a) Machined Aluminum Molds Machined aluminum molds are usually done on CNC machines from generated CAD files and can be either male or female. Typically built for shallow parts with small draw ratios they hold very close tolerances and can be mounted on temperature control bases and used with or without plug assist molds. b) Cast Aluminum Molds Cast aluminum molds are cast at a foundry from a pattern machined by Fiber Pad, Inc. from a composite material. The temperature controls are cast into the back and sides of the molds at the foundry. Cast aluminum molds typically are built for parts with large draw ratios and may be male or female and vacuum-form or pressure-form. Features such as texture, loose and pneumatic cores, and inserts are available. c) Composite/Temporary Molds For prototyping and short production runs, cost-efficient composite materials are used for mold construction. These molds produce parts that are to be evaluated for fit,
