Mechanical forming of thin partly crystalline plastics sheet - for rapid output of thin-wall mouldings

摘要

Moulded panels are made from thin sheets of a ductile and partially crystalline plastics material by mechanical forming, without preheating, to include strain levels beyond the elastic limits of the material. The press equipment uses at least one multiple piece platen with a spring-loaded annular plate so that the borders of the sheet are clamped between opposing faces before the feature zone of the sheet is formed by the meshing of profiled cavity blocks. Pref. ancillary spring loaded columns grip the centre of the sheet concurrently with the border clamps.