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Mar/Apr 2012  

Micromolding

Top Features

Company invests in molding equipment, employees to tap new markets

Dynomax Inc. is seeing strong growth in defense and aerospace orders for its micro-injection-molded products. While many companies might be satisfied with that, Dynomax wants more. It has targeted the medical industry for new business.

Manufacturing molds used to produce plastic parts with features too small to be seen with the naked eye or measured with standard devices is challenging. That’s why moldmakers that perform this work tend to specialize in designing and building micromolds.

Microextrusion: mainstay of medical device manufacturing

The extrusion process is great for making tubes, and microextrusion is great for making really small tubes. The smallest are drug-eluting tubes and those used in brain surgery or cancer surgery, which can have ODs as small as 150µm to 200µm. Some steerable catheters have sublumens (voids within the tube) with diameters of 10µm and layers as thin as 3µm to 5µm. The smallest extruded fibers and hollow fibers have diameters of 700nm.

Use of micromolded medical parts grows despite lack of micro-specific resins

Medical applications for molded microparts are increasing at an almost exponential rate as more device manufacturers and their suppliers gain familiarity with micromolding medical-grade materials. According to Dr. John Clay, research leader in advanced materials, Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, materials suppliers are responding to increased interest in micromolding by developing materials with improved melt-flow properties, which can better fill tiny mold cavities.

March 31, 2011—A low-cost, scalable technology that uses micromachining to produce complex structures on the surfaces of stamping dies and plastic and glass molds can change the properties of the parts being produced, according to its developer.

Dec. 23, 2010—A new micro-lens molding process is said to enable volume production of very-high-resolution wafer-level optics for use in smart phones, picoprojectors and other applications.

Top Videos

MICROmanufacturing Senior Editor Alan Richter recently met with representatives from Dynomax Inc., Wheeling, Ill., to discuss the company's recent expansion. Dynomax, which is targeting the medical device market for growth, has added two new facilities in the past 2 years. The company's headquarters in Wheeling, Ill., and the new Lincolnshire, Ill., facility gives Dynomax four locations throughout the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

Feb. 14, 2011—Since opening its doors in 1997, Indo-MIM has grown to become a leading global supplier of metal-injection-molded products. The company is headquartered in Bangalore, India, and has satellite offices in Princeton, N.J., and Stuttgart, Germany.

Top Products

Micro Tool & Mfg. Inc.

roboformMicro Tool and Manufacturing Inc. and Micro Plastics Inc., Meadville, Pa., offer moldmaking and molding, precision machining and engineering and design for the aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical, military and consumer products markets.

ARBURG GmbH + Co KG

allrounderThe Allrounder E (EDRIVE) from Arburg is an entry-level electric injection-molding machine. High precision and performance, in combination with a competitive price, make the series an economical alternative to hydraulic injection-molding machines, claims Arburg.

Wittmann Battenfeld Inc.

wittman battenfeld 1 thumbIn a nod to the growing demand for injection-molding equipment able to produce high-precision, microscale medical parts and devices, Wittmann Battenfeld has introduced a new version of its MicroPower machine.

Matrix Plastic Products

Matrix molding thumbMatrix Plastics Products, Wood Dale, Ill., micromolds plastic parts smaller than a pellet of resin with tolerances of 12.7µm or less for the consumer electronics industry, according to the company's Web site.

The ability to continuously etch precision metal components reel to reel enables Interplex Etch Logic, LLC, Attleboro, Mass., to offer down-stream operations such as forming, plating, molding and automatic assembly.