How thermoforming has recreation and fitness manufacturers covered

Introduction

Thermoformed panels make covering an elliptical safe and attractive

Recreational and fitness equipment often require large, detailed parts. Enclosures must protect internal components, withstand repeated use, and support brand identity.

Critical factors include appearance, performance, and cost-effectiveness at low-to-mid production volumes. Heavy-gauge thermoformed parts are well suited to meet these requirements. The process is particularly cost-effective for large housings and structural parts.

For fitness equipment OEMs, the value of thermoforming extends beyond lower tooling costs. The process can improve aesthetics, shorten development time, even reduce part count, while providing the flexibility to update products as market requirements change.

Perfect for large parts, enclosures, and multipart assemblies

Injection molding requires large, complex molds and molding machines with very high clamping forces. However, the tooling investment needs high annual volumes to justify.

Single-sided thermoforming molds are far less expensive and faster to produce than injection molds, making the process practical for large parts in low-to-mid volumes. Thermoforming reduces capital investment while maintaining greater flexibility for design changes. Learn more about how thermoforming compares.

Thermoforming can also consolidate several parts into a single formed piece.

Molded-in ribs and mounting features can add stiffness and function with easier assembly. CNC trimming helps create accurate mating edges, holes, slots, and openings.

For highly aesthetic products, pressure forming produces crisp details, textured surfaces, sharp transitions, and formed-in logos. These features give large cover parts an injection-molded appearance without the corresponding tooling investment.

Benefits of thermoforming

The thermoforming process provides project-level economics and benefits for product designers, product managers, and purchasing teams.

• Faster product development. Thermoforming tools can often be designed, built, and modified quickly. Shorter lead times for tools help manufacturers respond to market opportunities and begin production sooner.
• Larger parts. Thermoforming is capable of efficiently producing sizable enclosures that would be too costly with other molding processes.
• Design flexibility. Designers can incorporate textures, contours, ribs, undercuts, logos, louvers, and other functional or cosmetic features. Five-axis CNC trimming adds precisely located openings and finished edges.
• Color and texture options. Pre-colored sheet can eliminate secondary painting. Molded-in textures can provide attractive, durable finishes.
• Reduced assembly requirements. Part consolidation can decrease fastener counts, fabrication steps, inventory, and assembly labor. Twin-sheet thermoforming also creates hollow, rigid components when complete 3D parts are needed.

These advantages make thermoformed recreational equipment cost-effective across the entire program—not simply at the piece-price level.

Meeting indoor and outdoor performance requirements

Material selection is central to a part’s long-term performance in the end-use environment.

Indoor fitness equipment may be exposed to perspiration, cleaning chemicals, repeated impacts, and constant contact from users. Public-use equipment may also require flame-retardant materials or enhanced resistance to abuse.

ABS and polycarbonate/ABS blends are common choices for indoor covers and enclosures. Various grades of these materials provide a balance of appearance, impact strength, stiffness, chemical resistance, and formability.

Outdoor recreational products introduce additional requirements to withstand ultraviolet radiation, moisture, temperature changes, chemicals, and severe impacts. UV-resistant additives or weatherable cap layers help maintain strength, color, and appearance.

Other factors to consider when designing recreational or fitness equipment parts include draw depth, rib design, radii, attachment points, and expected loads. Learn more in our Design Guide. A qualified thermoformer can evaluate your design and recommend changes to improve wall thickness, stiffness, durability, and manufacturing consistency.

Typical fitness and recreation applications

The advantages of thermoforming support a broad range of fitness and recreation applications. Create cost-effective enclosures, panels, shrouds and components for:

• Treadmills and rowing machines
• Stationary bikes and ellipticals
• Strength-training equipment
• Rehabilitation and physical therapy equipment
• Watercraft (speed boats, kayaks, canoes, surfboards, etc.)
• Golf carts, RVs, trailers
• Playground and amusement equipment
• Storage systems and equipment cases

Well-designed thermoformed exercise machine parts protect operating systems while supporting safe human contact and maintaining a clean appearance. The process supports product families using common materials, colors and textures, plus features across multipart assemblies and multiple models.

Conclusion: Partner With an Experienced Thermoformer

Thermoforming provides compelling economics for large fitness and recreational equipment components, but finding the right partner can be key for a successful project.

Engaging an experienced heavy gauge thermoformer early in development can improve total project cost. The right supplier can provide design assistance, material expertise, tool design, CNC trimming, assembly and finishing, as well as inventory management.

Reshoring opportunities can also simplify and secure your supply chain.

Profile Plastics brings over 65 years of experience successfully producing large, aesthetic components to close tolerances for demanding applications. Involve our team early to develop durable parts that reduce tooling investment, accelerate development and production, to result in a total lower project cost.