Italian plastics machinery maker Cannon Forma has developed so-called ‘twin sheet forming technology’, which has gained the attention of numerous manufacturers, including Visteon for the production of plastic fuel tanks, Business Intelligence Group’s Automotive Newswire reported.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
At the recent K-2004 plastics show in Dusseldorf, Germany, the company reportedly demonstrated how it is using two 9 mm-thick extruded sheets, which are placed under a cooler thick sheet and placed in a mould, where one of the sheets is rotated and welded to the lower sheet in a thermoforming machine.
A Cannon representative told Automotive Newswire the company has supplied six of these thermoforming lines to Visteon and installed three at a plant in Emden, one in Berlin and the remaining two in Glaichau. The later plant will supply integrated fuel tanks to Volkswagen, who has an assembly plant in nearby Mosel.
The report noted that Cannon has pioneered the development of this thermoforming process, which is said to deliver very high quality fuel tanks with perfect weld lines and a savings in materials.
