Solving dog ears on the component corners

When membrane pressing or vacuum forming components using 3D Laminates dog ears are a symptom that can sometimes occur. This post is to address or assist that that issue.

Dog-ears are the bunching of the laminate on the corner which is also called webbing. This occurs when the material appears to be a wrinkle on the side of the component/door.

Solutions to repair doors:
1. Minor wrinkles such as 1/8", can be pushed out with a piece of wood and possibly colored. This is a rare fix on already pressed doors
2. Trim out. You can trim out the door with more vinyl then take a heat gun softening the vinyl and then use the extra trim out to tug the vinyl before trimming.

Solutions to prevent:
1. Experiment with a jig that is closer or further so as to capture the vinyl and pull away from the components. If your jig is small you may want to make it tall like a dummy part or wider so that it commands more vinyl and pulls it away.
2. Solution two is if using pedestals to leave more of a gap so as to create a under pressure and it pulls down and slightly inward the vinyl.
3. Experiment with pre-heat and heat. If material is over stretching you could have over pull as material could be too soft. Or it may be that the material is not soft enough and has not fully pulled away from the component and been commanded by the jig to the outside.

If you have read the above and have any questions, please contact us to clarify.