Patent ID: 8168110

Claim:
A process for producing an at least partly printed, metallized, and/or otherwise coated thermoformed film part comprising: providing a flat film piece which is (1) at least partly printed, metallized, and/or otherwise coated on one surface of said flat film piece or on both surfaces of said flat film piece, (2) comprises at least one thermoplastic, and (3) comprises at least one film section which corresponds to the thermoformed part to be produced with respect to size and printing, metallizing, and/or coating; mounting said flat film piece in a defined arrangement on a frame, wherein only the edge sections of said flat film piece are lying on the frame; introducing said flat film piece mounted on said frame into a heating zone, wherein at least said at least one film section is heated to a given temperature; and rapidly introducing said heated flat film piece into a forming zone and charging said heated flat film immediately and directly with a fluid pressure means under a pressure means pressure of greater than 20 bar to isostatically form the desired thermoformed part in less than 5 seconds; wherein said heating is carried out as contactless heating so that at least one side of the entire said at least one film section or of the predominant part of said at least one film section has a film surface temperature in the range of from 10° C. to 65° C. above the Vicat softening temperature B/50.