{"id":12459,"date":"2026-04-08T13:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T11:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/rp\/thermoforming-with-supporting-air\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:13:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:13:39","slug":"thermoforming-with-supporting-air","status":"publish","type":"cpt_ikv_rp","link":"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/en\/rp\/thermoforming-with-supporting-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Thermoforming with supporting air"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\n    #single-header-block_a19acadd18c7f47853625b866fac3db2 .swiperThumbsNavi .swiper-slide {\n        opacity: 0.4;\n    }\n\n    #single-header-block_a19acadd18c7f47853625b866fac3db2 .swiperThumbsNavi .swiper-slide-thumb-active {\n        opacity: 1;\n    }\n<\/style>\n    <section id=\"single-header-block_a19acadd18c7f47853625b866fac3db2\" class=\"block-single-header theGridWrapper \">\n        <div class=\"theGrid12\">\n            <div class=\" col-start-2 col-span-10 md:col-start-3  md:col-span-8\">\n                <h2 class=\"font-serif font-semibold text-blue text-sm w-4\/5\">\n                    Preventing chill mark formation by stamp stretching with supporting air                <\/h2>\n                                    <div class=\"mt-base text-blue text-sm font border-l-8  border-blue pl-base my-12 leading-normal \">\n                        During the thermoforming process, material costs can account for up to 90 % of total production costs. Since products are typically designed for minimum wall thickness, areas with higher wall thickness often lead to over-dimensioning and, consequently, increased material consumption. To address this challenge, a novel air-support system was successfully designed and integrated into the thermoforming process within the \u201cThermoforming with supporting air\u201d project.                     <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By applying controlled air pressure to the stamp-assist, chill mark formation could be completely prevented, and a more uniform wall thickness distribution was achieved. Compared to the conventional process, the use of air-assisted stamps resulted in an improvement in wall thickness distribution of approximately 26\u00a0%. Investigations using different stamp variants demonstrated that a stable and consistent air cushion can form between the stamp and the sheet, effectively preventing direct contact. This reduces thermo-mechanical stress on the sheet and significantly enhances product quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While transferring the developed approach to other material systems such as PET and rPET requires further adaptation of process parameters, the results already demonstrate strong potential for industrial implementation, particularly in the production of material-efficient packaging solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\" relative flex flex-col gap-2xs mb-xs md:mb-l xl:mb-xl\"><img decoding=\"async\"  class=\" w-full  \"  src=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IGF-22994-N-scaled.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IGF-22994-N-748x316.jpg 748w, https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IGF-22994-N-1536x649.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IGF-22994-N-768x324.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" width=\"1536\" height=\"649\" alt=\"IGF 22994 N\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><span class=\" text-copyright order-3 justify-end text-right w-full  w-full \">&copy; IKV<\/span><figcaption class=\" w-full  text-figcaption justify-end text-right \">Fig. 1: Measuring points on the moulded part to determine the wall thickness distribution and thickness curves of the cup moulded part with variation of the supporting air stamp with and without supporting air insert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Project data and funding<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We would like to thank the BMWE for funding the IGF project (funding code 22994 N) and the project partners for their cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Project duration: 01.09.2023 &#8211; 31.08.2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Promotion:<\/p>\n\n\n<section id=\"logo-bar-block_9f3824609ce17bb7457e071d17323332\" class=\"block-logo-bar py-2xl  clear-both\">\n    <div class=\"theGridWrapper overflow-hidden  \">\n        <div class=\"grid grid-cols-[repeat(auto-fill,minmax(140px,1fr))] gap-base\">\n                            <figure class=\" relative h-full  \"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"low\"  class=\" object-contain w-full h-full mb-base  \"  src=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BMWE-Logo.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BMWE-Logo.png 500w, https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BMWE-Logo-335x335.png 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" alt=\"BMWE-Logo\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>                                <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the thermoforming process, material costs can account for up to 90 % of total production costs. Since products are typically designed for minimum wall thickness, areas with higher wall thickness often lead to over-dimensioning and, consequently, increased material consumption. To address this challenge, a novel air-support system was successfully designed and integrated into the thermoforming process within the \u201cThermoforming with supporting air\u201d project. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12114,"parent":0,"template":"","tags":[1548,870,933,1547],"research_fields":[817,1529],"class_list":["post-12459","cpt_ikv_rp","type-cpt_ikv_rp","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-fright-marks","tag-stuetzluft-en","tag-thermoforming","tag-wall-thickness-distribution","research_fields-materials-technology","research_fields-process-control"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Thermoforming with supporting air | IKV-Aachen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"During the thermoforming process, material costs can account for up to 90 % of total production costs. Since products are typically designed for minimum wall thickness, areas with higher wall thickness often lead to over-dimensioning and, consequently, increased material consumption. To address this challenge, a novel air-support system was successfully designed and integrated into the thermoforming process within the \u201cThermoforming with supporting air\u201d project.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/en\/rp\/thermoforming-with-supporting-air\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thermoforming with supporting air | IKV-Aachen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During the thermoforming process, material costs can account for up to 90 % of total production costs. Since products are typically designed for minimum wall thickness, areas with higher wall thickness often lead to over-dimensioning and, consequently, increased material consumption. 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