The forming station of a typical thin-gage former is substantially more complex than that of a heavy-gage former．Owing to the thinner sheet，events must take place much more rapidly than those for a heavy．gage sheet．In addition：

·Molds are much smaller and are usually in multiples．
·Plugs must be ganged．
·Multiple molds require special hold．down plates called cavity isolators or hold．down grids，to minimize variations in wall thickness，
·Stripper plates are needed to uniformly strip the formed parts from the mold without racking，binding，scuffing or jamming．
P1ugs dominate the prestretching process．Machines must have the capability of carrying the mold in the“up”or“down”position．This means that the presses should have two platens and both platens must travel．Presses with this capability are useful in pressure forming and matched die forming．as well．For these two technologies，the press clamping capability must be robust．

  Thin-gage parts are removed from their web either while they reside on the mold or away froln the forming press in an in-line stand。alone trimming press．Since the part is Iocked on the mold．trimming on the mold．or trim．In-place．affords the most dimensional contr01 on the trimming 10cation．If the part is completely cut fi。om the web．it must be picked or removed from the press before the next sheet is indexed to the forming station．There are many ingenious ways to do this．Nevertheless．the picking method must be absolutely infallible．A part that is not picked or a part that is dropped before clearing the mold will cause havoc in the next forming step．Usually the trimming is not complete．with tabs remaining that hold the parts in theweb until the sheet is clear of the mold．Mechanical or manual picking is then required．In—line stand．alone trimming is an economically viable alternative for polymers that do not show substantial distortion．shrinkage or“swimming”between the forming press and the trim press．Extensive eflbrts are made to correctly register the formed part in the trim press.