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Products and Services
» VT-22-06
Vertical Thermoformers
The VT-22 Vertical Thermoforming
System is designed to give the fastest possible
cycle times available with vacuum forming machinery.
This is achieved by operating the heating process
and the forming process simultaneously. An optional
second station (as shown above) allows continuous
production as mould set-up can be carried out
on one station whilst forming is running on the
other. Optional water heaters for mould heating
and integral cranes for mould changes at each
station are available. Other options include automatic
sheet cleaning bars, sealed cabinet for pressurised
moulding and mould temperature control.
Sheets are loaded into the sheet carrier (5)
that moves the sheet between the different parts
of the machine. The beam (6)
provides the track that the sheet carrier travels
on, and it runs the full length of the machine.
This enables the sheet to travel from the load
position, into the heaters, and then to either
of the two forming stations. The heaters (4)
are mounted in two banks, front and back, for
dual sided heating. Two pyrometers are fitted
to the machine that monitor the actual sheet temperature
in the heaters. When the sheet has reached its
forming temperature it is carried to the selected
forming station (1 or 11), where
the sheet is released and held in the clamping
bars (3) for the forming process.
At this point the sheet carrier returns to the
loading position where the next cycle can begin
immediately. Moulds are fixed to the table (2),
which controls the penetration into the plastic
sheet. The fan tower (7) is mounted
above and directly in front of each forming station.
A frame carrying the cooling fans (12)
moves down during the cooling cycle only.
The Armour clamping bars have been specially designed
for ease of set-up and fast tool changes. Each
clamping bar is comprised of two high precision
aluminium extrusions, a fixed bar (1)
and a hinging clamping bar (2),
which is actuated via a series of pneumatic cylinders
(3). The size of the forming
aperture can be varied by moving the main sliding
bar (4) and the adjustable bar
(5). Both of these are mounted
on linear guides (6), and slide
on high precision rails (7),
and are locked in position with a locking handle
(8). The forming length is infinitely
adjustable along the slide. The forming width
requires loose pieces to make up any gap (9)
between the two adjustable bars. These can be
easily fitted and are bolted in place using a
steel brace.
 It
is critical to the forming process that the progression
of the mould into the sheet is smooth and controlled.
Armour mould tables run on precision linear guides
and rails, and are driven with hydraulic cylinders
through large rack and pinion drive gears. Each
machine is supplied with a self-contained hydraulic
power pack incorporating an electrically driven
hydraulic pump and oil reservoir, with solenoid
valves controlling the cylinder movement. Variable
table speed systems are also available as an option.
 The
heater banks consist of a series of quartz infrared
heating elements, adjustable in pairs (one front
heater and one back heater) to allow complex heating
patterns to be used. These heaters have a rapid
response time and therefore energy is saved between
cycles when the heaters drop to a very low standby
power. The acrylic sheet is only held by the top
edge during the heating process, thus ensuring
that no stress is induced (a common problem when
clamping cold sheet), and therefore straighter
products can be produced without warping.
 Armour
control systems use a Mitsubishi PLC to control
the sequencing of the machine, and have a Proface
touch screen as the user interface. Up to 1000 programs
can be created and are stored on a Compact Flash
card, allowing easy backup. Reporting facilities
are available and .csv files can be exported for
offline production analysis. The system is fitted
with a modem to allow remote access by Armour Engineers
for diagnostic checks and software upgrades. All
machine software is written by Armour and therefore
new versions and additional features can be developed.
Vertical Forming Machine
Benefits
Performance:
The speed of the Vertical machine gives a higher
output than any other machine available - 36 products
per hour (18 cycles per hour with 2 moulds, 4mm
cast acrylic & aluminium moulds). This is much
greater than the usual 10 – 14 products per
hour achieved on standard machines
Product Quality:
The product quality is the highest possible for
the following reasons:
- The vertical position of the moulds ensures
that they stay clean and therefore no marks
will be present in the formed part.
- The acrylic sheet is only held by the top
edge during the heating process and therefore
no stress will be induced by clamping cold sheet,
and this gives a straighter product with no
warping.
- The acrylic sheet is only held by the top
edge during the heating process and therefore
no stress will be induced by clamping cold sheet,
and this gives a straighter product with no
warping.
- The acrylic sheet is only held by the top
edge during the heating process and therefore
no stress will be induced by clamping cold sheet,
and this gives a straighter product with no
warping.
- Electrostatic sheet cleaning bars that automatically
clean every sheet with electro-charged compressed
air, prior to heating.
Man-power & Skill level:
The Vertical machine is extremely easy to use, and
can be operated with only 1 man to achieve 36 products
per hour. This is a significant saving in labour
costs compared to horizontal equipment.
Tool change time:
Mould changes can generally be accomplished in less
than 10 minutes.
Machine Cost:
The price of a Vertical machine is not much
higher than an Armour Horizontal machine and much
lower than the cost of our major European competitors.
Conclusion:
For a sanitary ware producer, no other machine
available offers such an incredible level of performance,
and the price ensures that it is affordable.
Download the Specification
table below:
Download
Vertical Thermoformer Specification
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