The 24th Annual SPE Thermoforming Conference, held in Atlanta last week, provided real proof of just how far that industry has come since 1991. The parts competition in the cut-sheet/heavy-gauge section gave attendees cause for pause, as they looked in amazement at the parts. It was quite different from the first few conferences, held in small hotel venues with tabletop exhibits where most of the parts fit nicely on a few tables.
Over the years, as the conference got larger, so did the parts. One area of the thermoforming industry that has expanded is large-part forming using heavy-gauge sheet. Applications for this process include everything from pickup-truck bed liners to dental chair bases to automotive hoods and medical equipment, MRI machines to be specific.
According to a recent report from Peter Mooney, President of Plastics Custom Research Services (Advance, NC), medical equipment enclosures are increasingly becoming a big part of the thermoforming industry's…
This article, by Clare Goldsberry, was originally published by PlasticsToday.com on September 11, 2015.