A method and system for thermal forming an object. A mold is provided, a shape of which corresponds to a desired shape of the object. A material is inserted into a heating area, and the material is heated using a plurality of independently controllable heat sources that heat different areas of the material. The heated material is then disposed over or into at least a portion of the mold so as to deform the material. The deformed material may then be trimmed so as to form the object.

Methods for manufacturing thermoformed objects are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes controlling a material transport system to move a material to a first location proximate to one or more heat sources. The method can include controlling the one or more heat sources to heat a first region of the material to a first temperature and heat a second region of the material to a second temperature. The method can also include controlling the material transport system to move the material to a second location proximate to an object forming element, and controlling the object forming element to form a dental appliance from the material.

A station for feeding closing seals for containers, which includes at least one fixed magazine of seals which is provided with an outlet from which the seals can be taken individually. The station includes a carousel for feeding seals which can rotate with respect to a first central rotation axis and is provided with pickers which are radially spaced apart from the first rotation axis. The pickers are individually rotatable about a second rotation axis which is not parallel to the first axis of the carousel. During the rotation of the carousel, at least one picker can is configured to rotate about the second axis from a position for taking the seal from the magazine to a position for releasing the seal.

A thermoforming device according to the present invention has a masking plate and a heater block. A plurality of the heater blocks are disposed with a space therebetween in a planar direction of the masking plate. The thickness of the masking plate is 0.2-3.0 mm. The distance of the space is 1-15 mm, and the distance of the space is set at least five times larger than the thickness of the masking plate. Heat to be transmitted to the masking plate from a high temperature heater block is more easily transmitted in the thickness direction of the masking plate than in the surface direction of the masking plate, and is more easily transmitted to the sheet than to a portion, of the masking plate, corresponding to a low temperature heater block, whereby a temperature difference is provided between different zones of the masking plate.

A method includes identifying first geometry of a first mold associated with a first dental arch and a second geometry of a second mold associated with a second dental arch. The method further includes determining, based on the first geometry and the second geometry that the first mold and the second mold are to be used for simultaneous forming of a first dental appliance and a second dental appliance on a plate in a dental appliance manufacturing system. The method further includes causing, based on the first geometry and the second geometry, one or more portions of the dental appliance manufacturing system to be configured to form the first dental appliance and the second dental appliance.

A method of folding plastic composition flooring, including but not limited to LVP, LVT, SPC or WPC, to form a desired shape, such as stair noses, baseboards, quarter rounds, T-moldings, endcaps, or the like. The method includes the steps of incorporating a thermal insulation layer between the plastic composite flooring and a heat generator, applying heat until reaching a heat transmission coefficient to allow the plastic composite flooring to become malleable, removing the heat, applying pressure to the heated section of the plastic composite flooring to form into a desired shape using a positive and negative embossing die mold on the top and bottom heated section of the plastic composite flooring, and removing the embossing die-molds once the plastic composite flooring has cooled down to its initial temperature.

A station for heating thermoplastic sheet-like blanks for a thermoforming line includes a heating carousel which can rotate continuously about a central axis and which has a number of heating heads radially spaced apart from the central axis. Each heating head is adapted to receive at least one respective thermoplastic sheet-like blank at a first peripheral region which is outside the carousel, to retain the at least one blank during the rotation of the carousel while supplying heat to it, and to release the at least one blank to a second peripheral region which is outside the carousel and is angularly spaced apart from the first region.

An apparatus for heating of thermally deformable sheet material includes a frame consisting of a pair of end beams extending laterally and a pair of side rails secured longitudinally between the end beams in a rectangular arrangement The side rail channels are oriented with their longitudinal openings extending upwardly. A heating tray assembly extends laterally and includes a pair of quick-release cam clamps disposed at opposed ends thereof to engage the respective side rail in a slidable, releasable fashion, so that the tray may be installed/removed at any location and clamped at that location. A sheet support assembly includes similar cam clamps at each end, and may be installed/removed at any location and translated/clamped at that location to maintain planar support of a workpiece.

The instant application discloses, among other things, ways to manufacture reduced density thermoplastics. A rapid foaming process which may create a polymer product by saturating thermoplastic sheet or preforms, heating, and then forming into final shape, is described. The polymer product may include an integral solid skin. This method may be utilized with any thermoplastic. The material handling, saturation methods, and end products are also described.

Methods for thermal forming an object are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes reading a mold identifier located on or in a mold, and determining mold process information from the mold identifier, the mold process information including heating information. The method can include heating a thermoformable material according to the heating information by adjusting power of one or more independently controllable heat sources. The method can also include monitoring one or more temperatures from a plurality of temperature sensing elements operably coupled to different areas of the thermoformable material. The thermoformable material can be heated according to the heating information and in response to the one or more monitored temperatures such that each of the different areas of the thermoformable material reach a respective desired temperature. The method can further include disposing the heated thermoformable material over at least a portion of the mold to form the object.