Design Nomenclature / Physical Model Making
Thermoforming
Also called sheet forming, drape forming, pressure forming
This entry has not been translated yet and is shown in English.
The whole family of processes that soften sheet plastic with heat and shape it against a tool — by vacuum, by air pressure, between matched dies, or draped over a form under its own weight. Vacuum forming is one member. The constant: thickness comes from the starting sheet and only ever decreases where the material stretches.
In practice
Every vacuum former is a thermoformer; not every thermoformer pulls vacuum. Shops use the words interchangeably and usually just mean the box in the corner.