Vacuum forming and pressure forming are the two main thermoforming methods, and the difference comes down to how the heated sheet is drawn onto the mold.
Vacuum forming
Vacuum forming uses a vacuum to pull the heated plastic sheet against the mold. It is cost effective, fast, and well suited to larger parts and moderate detail. Most general purpose thermoformed enclosures, covers, and trays are vacuum formed.
Pressure forming
Pressure forming adds air pressure on top of the vacuum, pressing the sheet harder into the mold. The result is sharper detail, better feature definition, and molded in textures and logos. Pressure forming is chosen when a part needs the look and detail closer to injection molding without injection molded tooling cost.
Choosing between them
- Vacuum forming for larger parts, lower cost, and moderate detail.
- Pressure forming for sharper detail, textures, and styling closer to injection molding.
Hill Plastics runs single station thermoformers and a 4x7 rotary machine, which gives the shop flexibility across part sizes and detail requirements. Our engineering team can recommend the forming method that matches your part.
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