Innovative production line unveiled for STF Sheetless ThermoForming™

12-Nov-08

LRM Industries, LLC, headquartered in Rockledge, Florida, has announced a new production line, custom designed for the unique, patent-pending STF Sheetless ThermoForming™ technology, which was invented by LRM in 2007. This new production line is designed to leverage the inherent advantages of going from thermoplastic resin directly to a large thermoformed part in one process cycle, putting LRM Industries in a unique position globally. The novel production line produces large thermoformed parts on 3 to 5 trolleys in a circular track architecture, coating molten polymer directly onto onboard traditional thermoforming molds. These trolleys are computer controlled and all elements required for part molding are onboard. Pre-manufactured sheets are not required with the STF Sheetless ThermoForming™ process, allowing a significant savings in the production of large heavy-gauge parts, and very high productivity. The company has demonstrated that coating the mold directly with a profiled extruded sheet allows the production of deep-draw products with minimum thinning. A wide array of polymers can be used, and all trim and finishing waste is recycled onsite for reuse in part production. Additionally, thermoplastic composite thermoformed parts and structures can be molded using long fiber reinforcement with this same breakthrough, one-step process technology.