moulding

Due to the often critical nature of some micro moulded parts and products, it is often necessary to manufacture under cleanroom conditions. With extremely exacting quality and traceability systems, complete control of the entire manufacturing process is required.

and adherence to the parameters set out in ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 can be hugely important, setting out the requirements for a comprehensive quality management system for the design and manufacture of safety critical components.

Quality Control

One thing that makes micro moulding supplier choice a key concern in the design to manufacturing cycle is the increased pressure in quality control. Quality control and high-quality requirements are characteristic of many industrial sectors today. This is a direct reflection of the fact that micro manufactured components in numerous industrial applications are now performing critical functions, and so failure rates — even in high volume mass manufacture — must be zero. This not only requires painstaking attention to manufacturing process control, but also demands that focus is maintained on quality control procedures and validation.

COST-EFFECTIVE & REPEATABLE MANUFACTURE

It is unsurprising that industry should take advantage of the possibilities that exist through the judicious use of micro manufacturing technologies and techniques today. Micro injection moulding, for example, facilitates the cost-effective and repeatable manufacture of small or micro products to extremely tight specifications, or larger parts with tiny features. In general, where possible, moulded products are replacing machined components. The primary advantage of micro injection moulding over micromachining being cost, micro injection moulding taking no time at all to mould components in relatively low-cost materials compared to machining.

Micro moulding also facilitates the manufacture of extremely complex geometries and represents a dimensionally stable production process with no particle contamination, and often a better surface finish. For OEMs seeking to take advantage of the possibilities that exist today for the manufacture of small to micro plastic parts, partner selection is vital. As well as assessing the nature of the equipment that a micro manufacturing partner has in-house (this including not just processing equipment but handling, assembly, and inspection equipment as well), of paramount importance is finding a supplier with an intimate knowledge of the process and the specific requirements of different industrial sectors. Accumold's expertise with small and micro-sized injection moulding is a fit for industrial sectors that require precision thermoplastic components with dimensional stability.

Accumold’s pre-eminence in micro mould tool design and fabrication is also extremely important, as this is the key stumbling block as OEMs attempt to enter the micro moulding arena. Accumold has in-house mould building capabilities, with cross-functional teams of designers and toolmakers working together to fabricate tools that can produce production-ready parts the first time. This reduces the likelihood of multiple and costly design iterations and tool redesign.