Agriculture Machinery & Thermoforming

The thermoforming process has been around of a number of years and has a wide variety of useful applications across many different business sectors including agriculture, aerospace and automotive.

The process itself is relatively simple and involves the heating of sheets of plastic until they become malleable and can be moulded into a variety of components. How is this process right for use in the agricultural sector and what advantage does it provide?

Thermoforming and the Agricultural sector

Thermoformed plastic parts are ideal for agricultural applications due to their long lasting and hard-wearing properties which makes them suited to long, difficult outdoor work.

Throughout the years, thermoformed plastic parts have been utilised in a number of agricultural applications such as:

• Ride-on lawnmower panels
• Tractor interior and exterior body mouldings
• Propagators
• Engine hood and bonnet enclosures
• Compost bins
• Irrigation systems
• As well as many other machinery parts and spares designed specifically for the agricultural market, where the demand for plastic components is forever increasing.

On top of the wide variety of agricultural applications, thermoformed plastic parts and components come with a range of sector specific advantages that make them invaluable for use in agriculture.

One of the main advantages specifically suited to the agricultural sector  is the versatility offered by various plastics such as polycarbonate and ABS. The range of plastics available means that several parts can be produced from certain plastics suited to a specific application.

The plastic use will obviously depend on the application required and it is essential to analyse the benefits of each plastic in relation to the application before beginning the thermoforming process.

Another huge benefit of thermoformed plastics, especially when designing agricultural plastic components, is the fact that size is not an issue.

It will come as no surprise that large equipment and parts are a necessity in agriculture and the thermoforming process can easily accommodate these larger parts and components as well as smaller applications. This versatility is what is enabling thermoforming to be the process of choice for agricultural businesses along with the high quality finish that is offered.

What are the advantages of the thermoforming process?

Whilst we have discussed the specific benefits thermoforming can provide to the agricultural sector, there are several overarching benefits that the thermoforming process provides which make it the ideal choice for manufacturing plastic components.

The specific advantages of the thermoforming process involve aspects such as:

• Size Versatility – as mentioned above, thermoforming allows for the manufacture of larger and smaller plastic components which can be useful across several sectors including the agricultural sector.
• Cost Effective – many companies and businesses across a multitude of sectors choose the thermoforming process as it is more cost effective than other methods of plastic moulding such as injection moulding. This is mostly because a large part size would commonly mean a high tooling cost if Injection Moulded when compared to Vacuum Forming.
• Reliable – thermoforming has been a staple of plastic component manufacturing for a while now and has been tried, tested, and adapted to ensure that it is an effective and safe method of manufacturing plastic parts and components.
• Adaptable – the thermoforming process is easily adaptable to several applications and allows for easy customisation of products if required which can be a major advantage depending on the application.

For more information about our agricultural parts manufacturing process or to arrange a free consultation to discuss your requirements, please contact Ansini today on 01623 812 333 or email info@ansini.co.uk.