Thermoformed Plastic Covers and Guarding

When it comes to putting the finishing touches on your company’s product, multiple variables usually come into play.  The finishing touches need to provide a look that fits your company’s image as well provide any functionality that may be required.  Covers, guarding, skins, etc are usually utilized for this purpose.  Many times these guards or covers are made from thermoformed plastic.  Thermoformed plastic is available in a variety of different textures which you can read more about in my blog titled “Changing textures is easy with a thermoformed plastic parts”.  If the size of the guard or cover is too large or additional features such as increased strength, stiffness, bonded in fasteners, etc are required, these parts may sometimes be made from fiberglass as well.  Click here for examples of fiberglass covers.  Steel and aluminum guarding can also be used but have some drawbacks that will be mentioned later in this blog post.

Thermoformed Plastic Covers and guards can provide protection for the product(s) they are covering as well protection for those who may come into contact with moving parts, pinch points, sharp features and/or otherwise hazardous areas of the product.  Thermoformed plastic guarding is often utilized to protect the consumer or operator from these potentially dangerous areas and with today’s technology, producing a decorative and functional plastic guard/cover has never been easier.  The utilization of CAD modeling allows industrial designers to produce CAD models of thermoformed plastic guards that will fit like a glove once they are produced.  Please visit our Custom Thermoformed plastic parts page for and example of a TPO thermoformed  cover/guard.

Thermoformed Covers and Thermoformed Guards vs Metal

Covers made from metal (aluminum, steel, stainless, etc) can be tough, but they come at a cost.  Guards that need to have lots of geometry can be expensive to fabricate.  Multiple welds or an expensive stamping die will be required in order to obtain the geometry required.  Also, metals guards can be susceptible to corrosion, rust, denting, etc and can produce sharp burrs and edges either during production or during service if subjected to a blunt force.  Also, there isn’t a metal available that is available in clear.  Click here for more about Metal vs Thermoformed plastic or molded fiberglass.  Several plastics which are thermoformable are available in clear which can allow observers to view the inner workings of the equipment under the cover.  A metal cover will require painting if a specific color is needed.  Thermoformed plastic guards can be made with the color molded in.

Thermoformed Covers and Thermoformed Guards vs Fiberglass

If a larger and stronger cover is required but you still want the ability to produce flowing geometry and complex shapes like you can get with a thermoformed cover, a fiberglass cover may be worth considering.   Some examples of fiberglass covers can be found by clicking here.  Fiberglass allows for larger guards and covers to be made which may require: deeper draws (which can sometimes pose a problem for thermoforming), the inclusion of various bonded in fasteners, extra stiffness or strength in specific areas, more rigidity, or just a high strength to weight ratio.  If you think a fiberglass cover may be what you need, don’t worry Arrowhead has you covered.  Arrowhead specializes in both thermoformed covers and guarding as well molded fiberglass covers and guarding.

Whether it is exposure to oils, solvents, elevated temperatures, UV rays or cold weather impact, chances are there is a plastic that can be thermoformed to meet your needs….and if molded fiberglass guarding may be required, Arrowhead has you covered (pun intended!) there as well.  Some examples of thermoformed covers can be found by clicking here.

Have a potential cover or guarding application that you would like to look into having thermoformed?  Give us a ring or contact us to start the conversation.  We’re happy to help!