Applications Industrielles du Thermoformage (AIT, 9 rue Gay-Lussac, F-95500 Gonesse) is developing its Thermo Pressure Forming (TPF) process on a broad scale, in the medical and aerospace industries. The company developed its own process for technical components, especially for short-runs and development projects, and now has sales of some FF 20m with 40 personnel. The TPF process combines the precision of injection moulding with the low tooling cost of thermoforming, allowing +/- 0.03mm tolerance on ABS mouldings (0.01mm for machining) – midway between conventional thermoforming and injection moulding.

For production runs lower than 50 parts, AIT considers that polyester composites are a better material choice, while for higher volumes, polyurethane or injection moulding are best. In between, however, TPF can produce precision parts at economical volumes, and can handle most thermoplastics, from styrenics to high performance materials such as PEI or PES.