Cooling & trim defect
Orange peel in thermoforming
Also called: Textured / dimpled surface
Orange peel is a bumpy, matte surface texture on what should be a smooth face, caused by the sheet not fully replicating the tool surface — often a heat, pressure or tool-finish issue.
Why it happens
- Sheet slightly too cool to replicate the surface
- Insufficient vacuum or forming pressure
- Poor or worn mould surface finish
- Grain or moisture in the sheet
How to fix & prevent it
- Raise sheet temperature into the correct window
- Increase vacuum, or use pressure forming for finer detail
- Improve/re-finish the mould surface
- Pre-dry hygroscopic materials before forming
How Indu prevents it: For show surfaces we pressure-form against finely-finished tools and pre-dry hygroscopic grades, giving a clean Class-A face without orange peel.
Troubleshooting help
Fighting orange peel on a part?
Send your drawing, sample or a photo of the issue — our engineers will diagnose the cause and reply with the tooling, material and process fix, usually within 24 hours.
ISO 9001:2015 certified · Most quotes back within 24 hours