Thermoforming is a mainstream manufacturing process for food packaging. The basic principle is to heat plastic sheets until they soften. Vacuum negative pressure and positive air pressure work together with molds to stretch and shape the sheets. After trimming and stacking, finished cups and food containers are produced.

The mainstream models on the market include multi-station thermoforming machines and flip-mold thermoforming machines. Multi-station machines separate feeding, heating, forming, punching and stacking on different stations for synchronous operation. They feature continuous production and are ideal for large-volume stable orders. Flip-mold thermoforming machines adopt a mold flipping structure to achieve uniform wall thickness and excellent demolding performance, with outstanding advantages in manufacturing jelly cups and thin-wall containers. Longsheng’s thermoforming machine series can be equipped with self-developed sheet extruders, manipulators, cup stackers, packaging machines and molds to realize one-stop configuration of the whole production line. Multi-material Compatibility: Process Both Traditional Plastics and Biodegradable Materials

Material compatibility is one of the top concerns for packaging manufacturers purchasing thermoforming equipment. Different materials vary greatly in melting points and stretching properties. Ordinary machines tend to have defects such as cracking, uneven wall thickness and mold sticking when processing PLA and cornstarch-based biodegradable materials.

• PET: High transparency and rigidity, widely used for transparent food boxes and pastry trays. It has a narrow forming temperature window and requires uniform heating.
• PP: Excellent heat resistance, suitable for high-temperature food containers and hot drink cups. It has good ductility for thin-wall products.
• PE: Great toughness and impact resistance, commonly used for flexible packaging containers.
• PLA and cornstarch biodegradable materials: Eco-friendly and compostable, yet brittle with a narrow processing window. The equipment must be equipped with precise temperature control and flexible forming systems.

Longsheng thermoforming machines adopt segmented independent temperature control systems. Operators can adjust heating parameters flexibly. Switching between different sheet materials on one machine does not require massive equipment modification. It allows factories to take diverse orders and produce conventional plastic packaging and eco-friendly biodegradable packaging at the same time, cutting investment in extra production lines.