Products
Proprietary Vacuum Forming Tooling and Specialized Thermoforming Machines Allow Greater Flexibility and Shorter Lead Times
Del Reedy, founder of Sandel Products, spent many years working with high temperature materials used in the interior of solid propellant rocket motors. This experience led to the development of unique thermoforming tooling technology that today allows FastForming.com LLC in Ohio and Sandel Products in California to create most thermoforming molds in as little as one to two days. Thermoforming products with multiple components may require several days, but we frequently ship prototypes the same day we receive the order. Standard shipping of finished sample parts is days instead of the usual six to eight weeks.
To complement the proprietary tooling, Del also developed a vacuum forming machine that extracts the sheet from the oven, positions it over the tool, and forms a part, all in less than two seconds. The synergy of thermoforming mold, machine, and custom ovens results in vacuum formed parts that, in many cases, may have the appearance of being injection molded or pressure formed. Unlike standard vacuum forming operations, the unique aspects of our proprietary tooling and vacuum forming machine allow us to make thin Polycarbonate parts.
The result is we are the only thermoforming companies using straight vacuum forming techniques to produce thermoformed parts with this level of superior appearance. One of the many features of our proprietary process is selective texturing, i.e. adjoining surfaces can have completely different textures.
Our proprietary process also allows us, under certain circumstances, to produce very deep draw parts like the Hose Coil Housing. Special care must be paid to the design of deep draw parts and we are happy to work with you during the thermoformed part design process to ensure your product’s success.
Our Simplified Process Saves Thermoforming Tooling Costs
Because our vacuum forming tooling is made from a proprietary medium that has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion, and operates at a lower equilibrium temperature than aluminum, our thermoforming molds do not grow or shrink during a production run. This allows us to thermoform parts like the Marine Pods, which must fit together line-to-line, as well as large parts of consistent size—without temperature-controlled tooling. This simplifies the vacuum forming tooling process—resulting in a reduction of your overall thermoforming mold costs and ensuring part consistency.
Flexibility in Part Detail
The combination of our proprietary tooling and specialized thermoforming machines also enable us to vacuum form parts with tremendous detail like the Palm Tree Crown Molding. The Oval is approximately 3”x6”; this was formed into a female tool. We only have to drill vacuum holes 0.10 deep so we can drill very small diameter holes, 0.016. These holes are so small that the plastic is not pulled into them, allowing us to vacuum form parts like the Palm Tree without vacuum dimples. Our process eliminates the concern that comes when pulling cosmetic surfaces off female tools. In addition to the complex Palm Tree, we have also formed logos and other custom textured parts.
Please visit our Gallery to view some of the many vacuum formed products FastForming.com LLC in Ohio and Sandel Products in California have supplied to a variety of industries. Then, contact Del in CA or James in OH and let us show you how we can save you valuable time and money on your next plastics parts forming project.