vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
(OP)
Hi all,
I am looking for 2.5mm abs or polycarbonate sheet that will be vacuum formed to produce a luggage hard shell. This will be formed in China and I have been contacting via email my requirements to the vac formers. The trouble is that the Chinese do not understand my requirement for a high gloss appearance. I want the exterior to be very high gloss/shinny and in vibrant colors, much as you see on some bright trendy luggage cases in the market today. Would this be a sheet with a thin gloss layer extruded with the abs? Is the shiny layer added after forming? What do you think the common method to get this affect is?
I have spent a lot of time looking on the web etc, but wanted a better understanding before I contact a serious supplier.
I have posted a similar thread some time ago, but didn't understand my full requirements at that time.
Any help would be appreciated.
I am looking for 2.5mm abs or polycarbonate sheet that will be vacuum formed to produce a luggage hard shell. This will be formed in China and I have been contacting via email my requirements to the vac formers. The trouble is that the Chinese do not understand my requirement for a high gloss appearance. I want the exterior to be very high gloss/shinny and in vibrant colors, much as you see on some bright trendy luggage cases in the market today. Would this be a sheet with a thin gloss layer extruded with the abs? Is the shiny layer added after forming? What do you think the common method to get this affect is?
I have spent a lot of time looking on the web etc, but wanted a better understanding before I contact a serious supplier.
I have posted a similar thread some time ago, but didn't understand my full requirements at that time.
Any help would be appreciated.






RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
Co extrusion with a clear plastic over a coloured plastic is another possibility, but you would have to find an exiting source or or have sufficient quantities to warrant a production run. Those quantities would be substantial.
Buy a piece of luggage as an example and send it to them. If they still don't get it then, they don't want to, so you need an alternative supplier.
Regards
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RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
There is not any memory with less satisfaction than the memory of some temptation we resisted.
- James Branch Cabell
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
Getting the gloss finish of the sheet material to hold up through the vacuum/thermoforming operations is a bit of a trick, requiring a really good mold polish and attention to process variables for the sheet. The material vendor should be able to help with that, but you need to have a thermoforming house that knows what they are doing to make it happen.
"The trouble is that the Chinese do not understand my requirement for a high gloss appearance."
That means they don't know what they're doing. Keep looking. Good luck.
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
PC actually has very poor scratch resistance unless it has a special coating to improve this.
I know the expensive high gloss luggage I have seen was back painted PC
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RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
Kydex seem to have a good selection of ABS with decorative layers, and a distribution channel in China so I'm going to contact them.
I am going to try and find a supplier who produced capped abs in a metallic range (if they exist). My initial quantities will be to low (1 tonne) to warrant a special order at the moment. The only suppliers I have found that produce standard Capped ABS in metallic only seem to offer silver, black and a carbon fiber effect!!
Painting may get me the best effect but with a low budget and risks associated for startup I think it may not be best at the moment - but I may be forced that way. I only just meet my target cost without painting, so until my orders are higher I assume it will not be viable at this stage.
Any more input would be appreciated and I will keep you updated.
Thanks
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
Remember you need UV and weatherability. Look at the Spartech catalog for ideas. They are the biggest extruder but have many competitors. Paint films are another option.
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
Started looking into paint films - thanks HDS. Do you think I (supplier) could vac form a film in between to clear sheets? Is this the norm? The shape is fairly simple with no deep draws(max 60mm).
I would look into painting the inside but because the supplier will be in China, I think paint film could be a safer option than painting.
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
There is not any memory with less satisfaction than the memory of some temptation we resisted.
- James Branch Cabell
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
Started looking into ASA – they make car roof boxes from this but it is co extruded with ABS to give it its impact strength.
My case is only small 500mmx400mm – do you think I would need the ABS substrate for the impact strength?
Hopefully I can get ASA or ABS/ASA in a variety of strong Standard colors. I'm not going to get the metallic look though.
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
In your shoes I would probably make the part from ABS with a thin cap layer of ASA coextruded on top for UV resistance. It depends on what market you are going for, high end or low. For a low end market try UV stabilized ABS instead of ASA.
There is not any memory with less satisfaction than the memory of some temptation we resisted.
- James Branch Cabell
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
The other preferred option is back painting the Scratch resistance ABS or PC but material is very expensive. Do you think standard clear PC suffice?
Thanks for all the help so far!
RE: vacuum formed plastic with gloss exterior
Regards
eng-tips, by professional engineers for professional engineers
Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.