What Is Plastic Fabrication? | Everything You Need To Know About the Industry

If you’re in the midst of searching for plastic fabrication near you, you’ve likely noticed the wide range of options available. The specific needs of your industry play a significant role in your decision. Key factors to consider include the location of the service provider, the range of services they offer, and the level of customization they can provide.

Plastic fabrication is the process of manufacturing, designing, or assembling products made from plastic or composites with plastics. Plastic fabrication is sometimes preferred to other industrial processes as there are numerous methods to choose from compared to working with metal or glass.

If you’re curious about what plastic fabrication method will work best for your business, read through the following popular methods to learn more.

This is the process of creating a barrier between two different surfaces. Resin and film are the two most common types of plastic lamination. Pressure and heat are used to apply the film to the other surface.

Typically, fabric, paper, flexible foam, and metal sheeting are the most common base materials the lamination will adhere to. Depending on the surface you want to laminate, you’ll have to choose between film or resin

Film is best used to form a plastic barrier on the outside of a product. Resine is best used to create an adhesive layer between the two surfaces.

The process of plastic molding covers a wide variety of techniques and therefore is the most adaptable plastic fabrication technique. Plastic molding can be divided into different categories based on the presence of heat and pressure, how the plastic is injected into the mold, and if reinforcement fibers such as glass or carbon are used.

With those three factors in mind, the molding process comes down to letting a heated and malleable piece of plastic cool and form around or in a mold. You may not realize it, but everyday items in your home may have been produced by plastic molding. Injection molding is one of the most popular methods for making dishware products.

Another molding process known as rotational molding creates hollow products like canoes and toys. No matter what product you want to create, finding a reputable plastic fabrication company near you that offers a variety of services and customization is crucial.

The final, most popular plastic fabrication method is plastic stamping & die-cutting. This method uses a punch press to truly punch shapes out of a sheet of extruded plastic or other non-metallic material. Common items in your toolbox like washers or gaskets are commonly made through plastic stamping and die-cutting.

This “cookie-cutter” process proves cost-effective as it requires less time than some of the other more complex plastic fabrication methods. You can look for company’s that build and design their own metal stamping die in-house for more customization options.

Plastic stamping and die-cutting are both so versatile because varying degrees of pressure can be applied to the plastic or non-metal material to create extremely thin products. Varying degrees of pressure is just one more method of customizing plastic products.

Now that you’ve learned about a few different types of plastic fabrication methods, you’re reading to start making some decisions. You still want to consider location and services when you look for plastic fabrication near me, but now you have a few more things to think about. Can they make customizable options? What is the design and production timeline? Lastly, when you’re researching online, pay attention to the web design of the manufacturing website. Quality and precision are crucial in industrial manufacturing, and you want the company you choose to reflect that in their online presence as well.