Thermoformed trays for industrial, electronics, and automotive applications

Custom thermoformed trays for component handling, automated manufacturing, and protective packaging solutions

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thermoformed tray solutions

Custom thermoformed trays

Thermoformed trays are custom plastic packaging and handling solutions manufactured by forming heated plastic sheet over custom tooling. Formed cavities and other features are engineered around product geometry to provide precise positioning, retention, separation, and protection.

Thermoformed trays are custom tooled in a variety of sizes, cavity configurations, and material types to fit nearly any product or application.

material options

Application-specific material options

The right material depends on how the tray will be used. We work with a range of plastic materials to meet specific handling, protection, and compliance needs, including static control, chemical resistance, temperature exposure, and medical device packaging.

RPET/APET (Recycled or Virgin Polyethylene Terephthalate): Good clarity and chemical resistance, commonly used for assembly, shipping, and retail insert trays.
RHIPS/HIPS (Recycled or Virgin High Impact Polystyrene): Easy to thermoform, suited for general industrial packaging and dunnage trays. Available in black, white, or color.
PP (Polypropylene): Chemical and temperature resistant, durable, suited for reusable or heavy-duty industrial trays.
PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol): A preferred medical packaging material offering excellent clarity, ease of thermoforming and die cutting, heat sealing to compatible lidding materials, and compatibility with common sterilization methods.
Anti-Static: Helps reduce static charge generation and accumulation during component handling, storage, and transport.
ESD Safe: Designed to minimize electrostatic discharge risks, protecting sensitive electronic components throughout the supply chain.
Conductive: Provides a low-resistance path for electrical charge, suited for applications requiring conductive material properties and controlled static dissipation.

Dunnage & Assembly Trays

Organize, separate, and protect components throughout manufacturing, assembly, and shipping. Custom-designed cavities support secure part positioning, efficient handling, and repeatable workflows.

ESD & Conductive Trays

Protect static-sensitive electronics with trays manufactured from ESD-protective and conductive materials. Material selection and tray design support component protection throughout production, storage, and transport.

Automotive Component Trays

Support automotive production with precision-formed trays for component handling, transfer, and automated assembly. Engineered for consistent part positioning and dimensional requirements, with PPAP documentation available.

Tray Design & Engineering

Custom thermoformed trays are designed in Siemens NX around product geometry, tray function, handling requirements, and the thermoforming process. Engineering considers cavity layout, product retention and orientation, nesting and stacking, material distribution, and manufacturability before tooling is developed.

CNC for producing medical packaging thermoform tooling

Prototyping & Production Tooling

Prototype and production tooling is CNC-machined in-house from aluminum using NX CAM. Prototype tooling supports sample development and design evaluation before production tooling is finalized, allowing tray fit, function, handling, and manufacturability to be evaluated early in development.

Thermoformed Tray Manufacturing

Dordan manufactures custom thermoformed trays in-house across multiple thermoforming lines. Production capabilities support a range of materials, part sizes, and volumes, with robotic automation and dedicated cleanroom thermoforming available for application-specific requirements.

ISO 9001 certified thermoforming company

Quality Control & Validation

Dordan's ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016-certified quality systems support dimensional inspection and verification of critical tray tolerances. First article inspection, process capability (Cpk) studies, IQ/OQ/PQ validation, and PPAP documentation are available based on customer requirements.

Thermoformed tray development

Custom thermoformed tray development

Dordan develops custom thermoformed trays around the functional, dimensional, and handling requirements of each application. Our development process emphasizes early design evaluation, customer approval, and manufacturing readiness to support a controlled transition from initial concept to repeatable production.

Application Review: Define product specifications, handling requirements, material selection, and critical dimensions
Design & Engineering: Develop tray designs and engineering drawings for customer review
Prototyping & Evaluation: Produce samples to evaluate fit, function, and manufacturability
Customer Approval: Review samples and finalize specifications before production tooling
Production Tooling: Manufacture tooling based on the approved design
Production & Quality Control: Begin manufacturing with inspection and validation requirements established for the application

tray faq

Common questions about custom thermoformed trays

Do your trays work with robotic or automated assembly systems?

Yes. Many of Dordan's dunnage and assembly trays are engineered for compatibility with robotic pick-and-place systems, vision-guided assembly, and automated handling equipment. Design factors such as part orientation, cavity tolerances, pick points, and tray indexing are reviewed during engineering to support automation requirements provided by the customer or their equipment integrator.

Can trays be designed to stack or nest to reduce shipping volume?

Yes. Trays can be engineered to stack or nest based on the part geometry, tray design, and shipping or storage requirements of the program. Nesting reduces empty-tray shipping volume and storage footprint, while stacking features support safe, secure handling of loaded trays during transport.

What tray requirements are typical for automotive component packaging?

Automotive component trays are often engineered to withstand repeated handling, line-side use, and exposure to heat, oils, or other manufacturing environment conditions. Design considerations typically include part retention, durability through multiple handling cycles, compatible with conveyor or automated line systems, and material selection suited for the manufacturing environment.

What ESD or conductive requirements can you support for electronics handling trays?

Dordan manufactures trays using anti-static, ESD-safe, and conductive materials to protect sensitive electronic components during handling, assembly, and transport. Material selection is based on the surface resistivity requirements of the application, along with compatibility with automated handling, grounding systems, and cleanroom or production environment conditions.