Tooling Materials

Preparing tools for vacuum forming can be costly and time consuming, depending on the method.

Martin Smith, Senior Technical Support Manager, gives a guide to the materials commonly used to create tools for vacuum forming.

Wood/MDF - Fabricated

Wooden tools are sometimes used for smaller production runs.

Standard woodworking equipment e.g. table saw, bandsaw, disc sander and table routers can be used, working from sketches and 2D drawings.

Remember: wooden tools show joins and tend to wear out quickly, which can result in poor quality vacuum formings.

Cast or Moulded Tool

Plaster of Paris is very fragile, difficult to mount and moisture/powder can damage the vacuum pump.

Fibreglass can result in good quality tools but beware of the tool overheating. The tool will need internal support to stop it collapsing.

Cast epoxy resin tools are ideal for production runs. These can be cast in-house and the resin sanded to a very smooth finish

Remember: cast resin is the best of the three, followed by fibreglass and then Plaster of Paris.

3D Printing / Rapid Prototyping / Additive Manufacturing

Requires 3D CAD drawing ability to create the CAD file, which can be expensive if outsourced. You can scan existing products to create a 3D CAD file, which is then sent to the 3D printer. The surface of the tools depends on the type of 3D printer selected and the time taken to produce the part.

Remember: 3D printed models vary in strength and resilience and are generally more suited to prototypes and small runs. However, 3D printing technology is changing rapidly, with new materials and processes being introduced continually.

Cast Aluminium

Traditional patternmaking can be used to produce your wooden pattern. The pattern is then sent to a foundry for the casting of the aluminium.

Cast aluminium tools may require some finishing to achieve a blemish-free surface. The finished tool is very strong and will produce 100,000 or more parts. Some large tools are cast and then CNC machined to the exact size because it is more cost effective than machining solid aluminium.

Remember: casting can take a few weeks depending on when the foundry can find a slot in their production for your job.

3D CAD Model

Requires 3D CAD drawing ability, which can be expensive. More complex designs are usually saved as STL, IGES or STL files using 3D CAD software e.g. SolidWorks, ProE, Catia or Rhinoceros. Some 2D drawing packages can be used to create simple 3D designs e.g. V-Carve.

Remember: What you draw in CAD is what you get. Check and check again before you start machining.

CNC Machined Tooling Board

There are a range of tooling boards available, starting with low density foam used for rapid machining when quick block models are required, to harder, high density high heat boards for production runs. Try a density of 650 kg/m3 for most applications. Porous resins (such as Metapor and Alwapor) are also available that do not require vacuum holes.

CNC Machined Aluminium

Aluminium is the best material for tool making. It's hard wearing and produces finely detailed vacuum formings. Typical grades of aluminium suitable for machining are HE15 also known as 2014 and HE30, which is also known as 6082.

More Information

This Formech Technical Newsletter has been compiled by Martin Smith, Senior Technical Support Manager. You can contact Martin at [email protected] for more advice and assistance.

Download this guide as a PDF

You can download the guide PDF here.