Thermoforming Packaging Machine Suppliers & Manufacturers

How thermoforming packaging machines work

A rollstock thermoforming packaging machine (also called a form-fill-seal thermoformer or FFS thermoformer) forms packs directly from two rolls of packaging film in an inline process. The thermoforming process: the bottom web (lower film) is fed from a roll into the forming station; the forming station heats the film and uses a vacuum or pressure tool (the forming die) to draw or press the film into the shape of the pack cavity — forming a tray, cup, or blister; the formed cavities advance to the loading station where product is placed manually or automatically; the filled cavities advance to the sealing station where the top web (upper lidding film) is pulled from a second roll, laid over the product-filled cavities, and heat-sealed to the formed bottom tray; optionally, vacuum is applied and/or MAP gas is injected before the top seal closes; the sealed packs advance to the cutting station where they are die-cut into individual or multi-cavity packs; the net waste film from the bottom web (the web trimmings outside the formed cavities) and the top web trimmings are wound up on waste reels. The result is a rigid or semi-rigid vacuum or MAP pack formed entirely from rollstock film. Thermoforming outputs include: vacuum skin packs — the top film is drawn tightly over the product surface by vacuum, creating a skin effect; standard vacuum packs — a rigid formed tray with a flat top seal under vacuum; MAP packs — the pack is flushed with gas before the top seal is applied; blister packs — for medical devices, hardware, consumer goods; aluminium foil blisters — for pharmaceutical solid dosage forms. Rollstock thermoforming machines for food are available in a range of sizes from compact machines for small producers to high-speed multi-cavity machines running at 15–30 cycles per minute, producing many packs per cycle.