Graingate Ltd

As well as supplying plastic vacuum formings and vac-forming tools to the local Nottingham, Derby, Mansfield and Leicester areas, we also supply throughout the East Midlands and nationally. We have directly supplied products throughout mainland Europe, North America and as far as Australia. With the internet distant isn’t a problem, our customers are only an email away.

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We have 6 vacuum forming machines with a capacity to form sheets up to 2500 x 1250 mm

Vacuum Forming is the process of heating a sheet of plastic and forming it over a tool by applying a vacuum between the tool and the plastic.

Tooling is fixed to the bed of the machine, above this a sheet of thermoplastic is clamped into a frame. This is then heated until the plastic becomes soft and flexible. At this point the tooling is raised into the soft plastic, and the air is then sucked out from underneath the plastic using a vacuum pump. Atmospheric pressure presses down on top of the plastic sheet, which then takes the shape of the mould. This is then cooled until the plastic becomes rigid.

 

We offer a quick turn around, with in-house design capabilities, prototyping, tooling and production.

materials can be textured, pre-printed, uv-stabilised, scratch resistant, fire retardent, etc

Secondary CNC machining is used to accurately trim moulded parts, for low to medium quantities, this can produce 'injection moulded' style parts at a fraction of the tooling cost

Mouldings can be made in ABS, HIPS, PVC, PP, PMMA, etc