Wausau Canvas

Wausau Canvas Company, Inc. offers Vacuum forming of thermal plastic sheet goods. We have two ovens, one with upper heaters and a shuttle with a 4' x 6' maximum sheet size capability. The other is a double oven with upper and lower heaters for rapid and uniform heating of materials. Sheet capacity also 4' x 6'. Materials commonly used in vacuum for... ming include ABS,Polyethylene (such as HMPE) and Polycarbonates (such as Acrylics). Thermal plastics formulated as forming grade can generally be formed with vacuum forming processes. The product end use determines which materials are best suited for each application. Black is readily available for most materials and colors can be special ordered although minimums can be 2,000 to 5,000 lbs per size. Graphics and labeling can be applied to end products through the use of raised areas in the mold (a name cut from steel plate and set in the mold for example) or applied while heating the plastic as is done with PE based products. ABS can be screen printed with good results. Tooling is comparatively inexpensive for vacuum forming when compared to other forming methods such as Rotation Molding. Molds can be fabricated from steel, aluminum, wood, fiberglass and many other materials. Molds can be made with internal cooling lines to speed cycle times. If prototyping or running low quanities (less than 100-200 parts), wood molds can be used depending on the shape. Wood tooling for prototyping can be accurately made utilizing CNC wood working equipment. Other materials such as aluminum can also be fabricated with CNC cutters. Vacuum forming is the most basic sytem for forming plastics.Read More