History of Thermoforming

History and Expansion of Thermoforming!

            “Thermoforming is considered as one of the oldest methods of forming useful articles of plastic.”[i]  It was first practiced, in some form, dating back to ancient time.  Some of the first recorded findings of thermoformed materials were found in common food containers and utensils.  Egyptians, Micronesians, Ancient Americans, and Romans used tortoise shells, (made of keratin), and tree bark (natural cellulosic) to form bowls and canoes.  The materials were heated it in hot oil or water and then re-shaped.[ii]

The next great advance in history occurred in the 19^th Century with the creation of celluloid.   “Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic…The first celluloid as a bulk material for forming objects, were made in 1855 in Birmingham, England, by Alexander Parkes.  Parkes patented his discovery after realizing a solid residue remained after evaporation of the solvent from photographic collodion.”[iii] Collodion is a flammable, syrup like solution of nitrocellulose in a mixture of alcohol.

Progress continued following Parkes discovery. “In the 1870’s John Westley Hyatt, considered the father of modern plastics processing, and his mechanical engineering colleague Charles Burroughs, rolled thin, skived sheets of celluloid or cellulose nitrate into tubes, inserted the tubes into steel molds that contained the desired shapes, and heated the sheets with steam under pressure.  The steam softened the celluloid sheets and forced it against the mold shapes.  The molds were then cooled in water, rigidifying the plastic.  The molds were opened and the parts trimmed to size.

The main products they had created from plastic were small in size.”[iv]  They had items such as mirror cases, baby rattles, and shaped bottles.

 Through Hyatt and Burrogh’s engineering genius, creations were constantly being designed in plastic.  The United States first began creating bottles, relief maps, cigarette types, ice cube trays, and ping pong balls.  Europe formed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used in Phillips refrigerators, and piano keys.  In 1938 an automatic thin-sheet roll-fed thermo-former was developed by Klaus B. Strauch Company which increased production speed to a never before seen high.  Not only were plastics used for common household products but also for military items.  During World War II, aircraft windscreens, machine gun turrets, and domes were being formed from plastics.  In 1948, in England, cast acrylic bathtubs were thermoformed by the Troman brothers, and in 1954 skin-packaged products were first shown at hardware manufacturer association trade shows.  Then in the 1970’s, the first thermoformed plastic concept car body was designed by Borg-Warner Inc.[v]

“Today heavy gauge plastics are used as cosmetic surfaces on permanent structures such as kiosks, automobiles, trucks, medical equipment, material handling equipment, spas, and shower enclosures, and electrical and electronic equipment.”[vi]  With the growth of education and corporate enterprise, new engineering technologies have been invented to aid in the thermoforming process.  “Although the basic forming process is very similar to what was invented many years ago, microprocessor and computer controls on more modern machinery allow for greatly increased process control and repeatability of same-job setups from one production run to the next, usually with the ability to save oven heater and process timing settings between jobs.”[vii]

Now the industry has become a powerhouse bringing profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  Huge companies such as: Mayfield plastics, Thermo-Fab, Universal-Plastics, and Lifetime have emerged.  The market continues to expand in part because of the versatility and variety of products made.  There are so many things can be done with the material.  Now, whenever you enter a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes or any other major retail store you will see Thermoformed plastic.  It has come along way since it’s the early creation of kitchen wear. 

 Tortoise Shell (made of Keratin)[viii]

  Alexander Parkes[ix] 

John Westley Hyatt[x]

 Plastic Relief Map[xi]

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[i] Throne, James L. Hanser Gardner http://books.google.com/books?id=FIFlNYgV7poC Publications, "Understanding Thermoforming." Accessed February 20, 2012..

[ii] skytec plastics, "History of Thermoforming." Last modified October 03, 1999 . Accessed February 20, 2012. http://www.plasticwebsite.com.au/thermoforming_history.htm.

[iii] Wikipedia, "Celluloid." Last modified Februrary 15 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celluloid

[iv] Throne, James L. Hanser Gardner Publications, "Understanding Thermoforming." Accessed February 20, 2012. http://books.google.com/books?id=FIFlNYgV7poC.

[v] Throne, James L. Hanser Gardner Publications, "Understanding Thermoforming." Accessed February 20, 2012. http://books.google.com/books?id=FIFlNYgV7poC.

[vi] Wikipedia, "Thermoforming." Last modified January 25 2012 . Accessed February 20, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoforming.

[vii] Ibid

[viii] eHow, "What are Tortoise Shells for?." Last modified June 05, 2011. Accessed February 20, 2012. http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbnid=ndOXi_kuEgjgfM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ehow.com/info_8543829_tortoise-shell-rings.html&docid=ltnGgJG30KAQTM&imgurl=http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-page-main/ehow/images/a08/4n/il/tortoise-shell-rings-800x.

[ix] Excellent Poly Inc., "Alexander Parkes and His Plastic Bags." Last modified July 25, 2011 . Accessed February 20, 2012. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnso&tbnid=erGWFoVLPVNVvM:&imgrefurl=http://www.excellentpolybagsblog.com/2011/07/alexander-parkes-and-his-plastic-bags/&docid=ri3mK6IcPU_WVM&imgurl=http://www.excellentpolybagsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/parkes.jpg&w=234&h=300&ei=BcFCT6-9KqSMigLl2InUAQ&zoom=1&biw=1525&bih=635.

[x] Syracuse University Library, "John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920)." Accessed February 20, 2012. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&tbm=isch&tbnid=OfGb9z-4aPn0RM:&imgrefurl=http://plastics.syr.edu/content/hyatt_jw.php&docid=SUSxyHgB9Zx0EM&imgurl=http://plastics.syr.edu/content/hyatt_jw.jpg&w=420&h=550&ei=HsFCT83TM4efiQLFirHAAQ&zoom=1&biw=1525&bih=635.

[xi]Wikipedia, "Raised-relief map." Last modified January 5 2012. Accessed February 20, 2012. http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&pwst=1&tbm=isch&tbnid=rrTXghbYvDLS3M:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised-relief_map&docid=aXk5kNG1UEbQGM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Tatry_Mapa_Plastyczna.JPG/350px.