Worldwide Technological Advances in Micro Molding
12/29/16 Medical device, Electronics, and Biopharmaceutical manufactures need new products that create tinier, less invasive, fluid-induced, and/or space saving micro devices. These products require integrated, micro and automated solutions to ensure their success out of the gate. The tiniest parts in an assembly are the ones most likely to be a challenge and are also usually the enabling component of the entire devices form, fit, and function. Many new advances in micro molding have been developed worldwide for the creation of microscopic features and components. Micro molding is a necessary form of manufacturing for many polymeric, metallic, and nano-composite materials and processes alike.
Although there is no standard definition of micro molded components, a general industry-accepted definition is one or more of the following attributes:
• Fractions of a plastic pellet or weighing fractions of a gram
• Having wall thickness of less than .005”(0.127mm)
• Having tolerances of .0001” to .0002”(0.0025 to .0050mm)
• Having geometry seen only by use of a microscope
Many new products exist today because of the introduction of micro molding which has been around since the 1950’s due to the Swiss watch industry. At the beginning stages of micro molding, few machining and molding machines were available on the market that were considered small enough and precise enough to produce components that are the size of specks of dust. Today, dozens of small shot size, ultra precision micro molding machines exist. The technology is ripe for creating new and innovative microscopic components but the technology is limited to a select entrepreneurial few who may have had the foresight in the 2000-2002 manufacturing economic downturn to invest in micro technology. For this reason, scarce knowledge is known and more importantly shared throughout the micro molding industry, creating a need for micro manufacturing expertise, advanced, and integrated micro solutions.
Micro Engineering Solutions has been in the forefront of this ever-advancing technology and as a result been involved in many micro-component projects. Please browse our micro capabilities throughout our website and call us to discuss your innovative ideas!