THERMOFORMING - Dimension One Spas 

Vulcan Conversion Yields Huge Energy Savings

"The major step in our thermoforming process is heating the plastic sheet," said Paul Yandell, Operations Manager at Dimension One Spas in Oceanside, CA. "The nichrome system we had been using was working fairly well, so we had to be very sure before we put everything on the line and switched to the gas‑fired catalytic infrared. We put the catalytic system in around Christmas time, with very good results. We're savings thousands of dollars every month in energy costs, our cycle time has dropped from fifteen to six minutes, and our product quality and consistency have improved."

plumbing and electronics, and an insulated cover. The company uses a double‑shuttle thermoformer which had been fitted with nichrome, electric‑resistance heating elements. They were referred to Vulcan by one of their vendors and saw the system in action at a manufacturing facility very similar to their own. The demonstration, according to Yandell, "made the technology too compelling to pass up."  And the results of the retrofit have also been compelling. Operating costs are reduced, first of all, because natural gas is a more cost‑effective energy source than electricity. Further, because the longwave infrared is absorbed so efficiently and uniformly, less energy is required to heat the plastic. Reduced cycle time means that Dimension One Spas can now form a maximum of 40 sheets per shift, a substantial increase over the 24 sheets per shift produced with the nichrome heaters. Operations can be kept at one shift, which results in a considerable cost savings.  Uniform heating also produces better quality shells. "With a conventional electric oven, the 100‑inch‑by‑100‑inch sheets of plastic used in spa manufacturing are not heated evenly," said Yandell, “which can cause stress in different parts of the plastic. With the Vulcan system, heating is more uniform and the stresses don't occur. We get better quality parts and we have a higher degree of predictability. "The limiting step in our manufacturing process used to be heating. Now, the only limitation is sheet cool‑down time."

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