7. Economic aspects

One of thermoforming's most serious technological competitors is injection molding. Injection molding enables very precise thickness control, but requires much more expensive tooling due to the high pressures the mold must withstand. The applications in which thermoforming competes most are trays and cups .

Figure 35 compares the two processes. This is due to the damping effect of the mold and specific tooling. Injection molding is at a disadvantage for small runs, but may well become advantageous for very large runs. In this case, mold amortization...