One way to accomplish smart material handling solutions is with durable shipping and packaging containers. Thermoforming is an ideal solution. In this article, we look at how and why thermoformed packaging helps manufacturers improve the efficiency of their supply chains by reducing costs and time while improving sustainability.
Before we discuss supply chain advantages, it is worth outlining the general advantages thermoforming has over injection molding:
With these advantages in mind, let’s look at how thermoformed packaging helps companies improve their supply chains.
In the tooling phase of thermoforming, a single 3D form is created out of aluminum, wood, polyurethane, or a 3D printer. In injection molding, a double-sided 3D mold is made from aluminum, steel, or beryllium-copper alloy. There is an advantage in timing and price with thermoforming since prototype samples can be made from CNC-cut wood tooling. Tooling costs for large product tooling are substantially less with thermoforming.
The cost of tooling in thermoforming is much cheaper than the cost of injection molding. However, the cost of production per piece in injection molding can be less expensive than thermoforming. Typically, plastic injection molding is used for large, high-volume production runs and thermoforming is used for smaller production quantities as well as large production runs.
With the combination of tooling and production, it can give an accurate measurement of the amount of time it takes to manufacture your products. In thermoforming, the average time for tooling is 0-8 weeks. Following tooling, production usually occurs within 1-2 weeks after the tool is approved. With injection molding, tooling takes 12-16 weeks and can be up to 4-5 weeks after when production starts.
Thermoformed plastics have a light structure that makes them an ideal material for packaging, storage, and transportation. They can be custom-made to meet various shock absorption requirements for specific products, like Lithium-ion Batteries. When compared to other materials, thermoformed plastics are better for nesting, which saves costs in handling and logistics. Thermoformed plastics are also more recyclable than many other plastics.
Thermoformed solutions are produced from polymer resins that soften when heated and harden when cooled during thermoforming or vacuum-forming technology. This means that they can be easily molded, customized, and engineered not once, but multiple times.
Products made by Vantage Plastics are not only reusable typically over multiple years but the materials in the products are recyclable for reuse in new products. To encourage sustainability, Vantage Plastics has a guaranteed buyback program. We also have a sister company, Edge Materials Management, that specializes in recycling plastics.
If sustainability is important to you, Vantage Plastics is the choice.
Discover how thermoformed containers from Vantage Plastics can improve your supply chain. Contact a Vantage Plastics thermoforming expert today.