Trimming of plastic components, and especially the thermoformed ones, embodies experience and elaborate processes performed by CNC 5-axis machining centers, supported by three-dimensional graphic programs. In this industry there is a great competition, but the experience and the long lasting cooperation are the key issues that led to the successful collaboration between the Italian companies Belotti S.p.A. and Lapiplast Srl, two leading companies, each in his field, for the thermoforming industry. Belotti S.p.A., a specialist in the design and construction of machining centers, has engineered over the past forty years highly specialized products dedicated to CNC trimming with high precision cutting.
The collaboration with Lapiplast, operating in the plastic thermoforming, agricolture, medical and refrigeration industry, began in the ’90s and has been a witness to the evolution that this market experienced. Since the first models sold in those years up to the last generation ones, the demand of speed and precision grown exponentially along with the need for production flexibility and safety devices to protect the operator. Although the complexity of the work pieces has become increasingly high, with greater thicknesses and more precise details.
Technological progress the two companies experienced together can be summarized on the basis of following parameters:
- Size and complexity of the working piece: indispensable for the design the working volume;
- Dynamic: it is supported by advanced kinematics and is increasingly pushed to improve productivity thanks to the latest generation CNC control software;
- Productive process: a necessary information to calculate the parameters to achieve the requirements of the project. The cutting angle of the tool and its required cutting power is calculated for the main movement of the machining center. It is then possible to calculate the specific pressure of the cutting in order to fix the accuracy of machining and the cutting force to be taken, i.e. the thickness of material to be removed.
These are the key points that allowed the development the performing of the 5-axis machining centers and the safety for the operators and with performances that enable the processing and trimming of thermoformed plastic pieces with greater dimensions and higher and higher thicknesses. The secret of such a close and lasting cooperation between Belotti and Lapiplast lies mainly in the knowing each other and understanding the market in which you are moving, and always thinking about future as a valuable resource to change, grow and evolve together.
To learn more please visit: www.lapiplast.com
Watch the video on Lapiplast Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/Ft713pi8rC4
