Plastics News Europe - July/August 2019 - 21

thermoforming

formed. This process, known as pressure forming, allows for more detailing, texturing, undercuts and the like
to be added.
Based on the thickness of the plastic sheet, a distinction is made between thin-gauge and thick-gauge
thermoforming. The thinner gauges
- films - are supplied on rolls and
mainly used to produce very thin, often disposable items.
At swissplast, both thin-gauged
products and thick-gauged products
are formed, said Stephan Zwahlen.
"We do thermoforming from roll material and thermoforming from
sheets," he said. Roll-fed applications
are mostly packaging and trays -
"Smaller parts with a thickness of up
to 2mm and higher quantities,"
Zwahlen explained. Technical parts
are produced from extruded thermoformable sheets. swissplast can process sheets up to 3000x1500 with a
maximum forming height of 620mm
and a material thickness of maximal
13mm.
The main plastics processed by the
company are ABS. PS/HIPS, PS/PE, PC,
PP, PET, ASA, ABS/PMMA and ABS/
TPU.

Growth
swissplast manufactures packaging,
including trays, and technical parts
for various industries, according to
Zwahlen. "Shower bases and sinks
for caravans, outside cover parts for
caravans and electrical vehicles -
these are all examples of the kind of
products we produce. In addition, we
develop and design large parts for,
for example, the machine industry."
Sheet metal cladding, previously
the standard on machines, is increasingly being replaced by outer shells
made from plastic, for reasons of
both cost and aesthetics. swissplast
collaborated, for example, on the redesign and development of the Verso
platform for automated sample stor-

age produced by Hamilton
Company. The traditional
two-dimensional metal
exterior was replaced by
three-dimensional shuttering parts for a clean
and up-to-date look.
swissplast has seen
considerable growth over
the past years and has
evolved into a company
serving international customers around the world.
"We have customers
in the USA, all over Europe including Scandinavia and the middle East.
Our customer base is very
broad and includes, only
to name a few, Erwin
Hymer Group, Bosch,
Continental,
Liebherr,
Hamilton, Diversey, or Kyburz in Switzerland," said Zwahlen.
He noted that, with the exception
of the automotive industry, the company has seen growth across the
board, in all industrial sectors. "The
caravan industry, for example, has
performed very well in recent years."

Outlook
The thermoforming market is still one
with potential, according to Zwahlen
and just as elsewhere in the industry,
trends and developments are also
making their impact felt.
He sees the transition to electric
vehicles as one that could open up
opportunities for thermoformed
parts. Also the heightened focus on
design - "today you don't just manufacture a high-end machine, that machine has also to look appealing as
well" - is also a market with 'huge
potential', he said, pointing to the
project the company recently completed for bending machine manufacturer Jorns AG. The emerging
markets, too, present new possibilities and bring competition.

Regarding Industry
4.0, Zwahlen said it was important for swissplast mainly in
the area of tray design and manufacturing. "Our trays are used in high
end and precise assembly lines," he
explained.
Sustainability is another increasingly important theme in the industry
today, and one which swissplast
takes seriously. The company recycles
99% of all its cut-offs, returning
these to the supplier. "We also compensate our general CO2 exhaust
with certificates, in addition to supplying certified climate neutral parts,
if desired - which is not that often."
In the end, the important thing is
to remain alert in order to recognise
the chances offered by the changing
market and to respond to these.
Zwahlen: "That is why we must
do and keep doing an excellent job
for our customers. We cannot rest."

Appearances count
Competitive differentiation is a tried-andtrue strategy for companies in every segment of the market - including producers
of industrial machinery. It is a strategy successfully employed by Jorns AG, a leading
manufacturer of bending machines headquartered in Lotzwil, Switzerland. Fully
aware of the fact that 'the eye buys', even
where investments in double bending machines are concerned, the company enlisted
the services of the industrial design firm of
Weber. Peter Michael Weber was tasked
with revamping the design of the existing
machine, giving this a more streamlined
look.
At the same time, Jorns was also seek-

july/august 2019

ing to optimise its manufacturing process.
A new design, in which the current sheet
metal covers - which needed to be painted
- were replaced by plastic covers, was developed. In collaboration with swissplast,
the heavily rounded corners of the original
design were eliminated for a more up-todate look, while replacing the metal covers
with pre-coloured thermoformed plastic
covers meant that the painting step could
be dispensed with, resulting in a more efficient production process.
Opting for thermoforming also resulted
in lower tooling costs, which made it possible to replace the simple 2D sheet metal
design with modern 3D modelling.

The new parts are deep drawn from
pre-coloured plastic. A new manufacturing
process for the sheet extrusion of the ABS /
PMMA used to make the covers provides an
exceptional surface structure, which exactly
meets the design specifications. This eliminates a final, costly finishing process.
Working with swissplast, the complete
process from development of the plastic
covers through product optimisation and
implementation was realised expertly and
efficiently, said Benedikt Koller, mechanical engineer HF / construction, Jorns AG.
Jorns presented the new machine at the
Euroblech trade show in Hannover last
October.

Plastics News Europe - July/August 2019

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