Development and Characterization of a Thermoforming Apparatus Using Axiomatic Design Theory and Taguchi Method

Abstract In this study, an experimental investigation of the development of a thermoforming apparatus and the thickness uniformity of its samples was performed based on the axiomatic design theory in conjunction with the Taguchi method. Thermoforming is a powerful tool for both consumer product needs and packaging industry. Such traditional technology has been investigated in many aspects for a long time ago. However, there are still needs for the development and characterization of thermoforming devices aiming at shorter construction time and less cost involved. Therefore, an experimental analysis was performed to systematically realize all the functional structures of the device using axiomatic design theory. The combination of orthogonal array (OA) and analysis of variance revealed the influences of the relatival processing factors, showing that the thickness of the plastic sheet and areal draw ratio had crucial roles to play. Furthermore, an optimization process using the Taguchi method was utilized to determine all accurate and optimum processing parameters. The outcomes obviously verified that the present combination method can overcome the current development and optimization method’s limitation and also conclusively give accurate optimal outcomes without using complicated algorithms and software solutions. Therefore, it promises a simple and powerful tool for engineers on-site in medium or small scale manufactories.