Plastic bending
Plastic bending, also known as draping or shaping, is a type of thermal (heat) reshaping in which the entire material is heated. This process is used for products with a single curve. A variant of this is cold bending or temper shaping, which is suitable for polycarbonate and PETG. As specialists, we can bend plastic into any desired shape for you.
Plastic bending: how it works
In the bending of plastic, the whole sheet material is first heated in a thermal oven, making it plastic (pliable). The plastic sheet is then placed over a custom-made mould. After cooling, the material retains the shape of the mould. All thermoplastic synthetic materials can be bent when heated.
Cold bending or temper shaping
Polycarbonate and PETG can also be bent (temper shaped) when cold. This technique involves forcing a plastic sheet into the desired shape in its cold state. The sheet is then heated up to a lower temperature (max. 70 degrees) in a tempering oven. This removes the tension from the material, which retains the desired shape after cooling. The advantages of this processing technique are that there is no visible difference between the unprocessed and processed material, and the cost of producing a large series is relatively low.
We are able to bend virtually any plastic sheet for you into any shape and for various applications. If you need an 'extreme' shape and maximum shape retention, then opt for heated bending.
Which materials are suitable?
We can bend all thermoplastic synthetic materials for you, including:
- Acrylic / PMMA, also known as Plexiglas® and Perspex®
- Polycarbonate (PC), also known as Lexan®
- PETG
- PVC
Polycarbonate and PETG can also be bent (temper shaped) when cold.
Machines / equipment
We use exclusively custom-made moulds for the heated and cold bending of plastics. In addition, we make use of two types of oven: a thermal oven to heat the plastic sheets for heated bending and a tempering oven for cold bending or temper shaping.
Specifications
In our ovens, we are able to bend plastic sheet material with a maximum length of 2850 mm and a maximum width of 2000 mm.
If you would like more information on plastic bending or draping or to discuss the possibilities for your application, we will be happy to help you.