Question

Travel bag made of polymer materials. Discuss which forming process suitable to produce the casing of this product. Justify your answer, why you choose this process?

Answer 1

In recent trends, the thermoforming process has become one of the most emerging methods to produce products out of polymer materials.

The thermoforming process replaced the forms of similar products how they used to look previously. Thermoforming changed the whole aesthetic form factor of the product.

Many of the industries are relying on this process of thermoforming for there manufacturing. The thermoforming products are differentiated based on the thickness of the product being made.

Currently, automobile industries are the highest consumers of the products made by thermoforming products based on weight. But if based on the volume of the product fast-food packaging industries are leading.

Many small luggage manufacturing firms around the world chose the method of thermoforming for the manufacturing of travel bag cases.

Cases that are made with the process of thermoforming are much lighter in weight, tough and rugged in construction.

As the thermoforming process cannot produce the whole travel bag so it is used only for the construction of the case and the rest of the components like handle and feet of the bag are made with the process like injection molding.

Advantages of thermoforming:

• Ease of creating many parts with the use of the same material.
• Easy prototyping can be performed
• Saving in time and money
• Large hollow parts can be easily made

Benefits of thermoforming:

• Effective
• Flexibility in designing
• Cost-efficient
• Less time is required
• Only half mold is required
• Speed of manufacturing is high
• Weight is saved i.e. cost saving
• Vast choice of color and pattern can be fulfilled
• Options availabilty for patterns and finishing