Tag: injection molding company usa

5 Top Tooling Tips to Make Perfect Injection Molded Parts

Posted on by Blog-manager

What tooling tips for injection molded parts should I follow?

  1. Figure out what polymer you’ll use
  2. Know which machines you’ll use
  3. Specify everything you want in the design
  4. List out your expectations
  5. Run samples to improve quality

Creating plastic parts begins with the mold — which is where a plastic mold maker comes in.

This is a difficult process as every injection molding project is unique, and therefore poses unique specifications and problems. Several factors go into tooling a mold that engineers and designers have to account for.

So if you’re looking to get things done right, here are our top tooling tips for injection molded parts — these will ensure you get the perfect, precision part.

What is tooling in injection molding?

Tooling is the heart of injection molding — without it, the quality of your mold can’t be ensured. Tooling design is a must in all kinds of plastic molding, be it complex or simple parts.

The main goal of tooling and tooling design is to create a mold with manufacturability. This requires a molding process that is simple, efficient, long-lasting, easy to use and maintain, and meets all design specifications.

Injection molders are often expert tooling designers and toolmakers, as this is what enables them to create top-quality parts with consistently tight tolerances and repeatable dimensions.

Here are a few things you’ll need to figure out when working with your injection molder in designing your tooling:

Figure out what polymer you’ll use

The tool and the molding process depend largely on the type of polymer or plastic you’re planning on using. Having a rough idea of what material you’ll use for your product (or at least have a shortlist of your options) will greatly help your injection molding partner in determining the appropriate design of your tooling.

Different polymers will have different flow rates. Some polymers are less free-flowing and tend to shrink less, while other polymers will be the opposite. If you have tooling designed for one polymer and then suddenly switch to a different one, then that will require some reworking of the tool to better suit the new material.

While it might be difficult to narrow down your choices, it’s a good idea to consult your injection molding partner on the matter. They’ll likely have a few good recommendations to make regarding your material selection.

Know which machines you’ll use

Know which machines you’ll use

You might decide to run your tooling in-house while outsourcing design and manufacture to an injection molder. If so, you’ll have to know which machines you’ll be using the tool on. It isn’t essential but it’s a good practice to follow to ensure the tool is compatible with all the machines in your process.

This is especially true if you’re looking to have special features worked into your toolings, such as core-pulling or two-shot molding. These tools will be harder to rework if you suddenly change your specifications mid-way through tool manufacturing. If you’re unsure of what machines to use for your product, always consult your injection molding partner — they’ll provide valuable insight on what machines best fit your application and tooling requirements.

Specify everything you want in the design

Be detailed about everything you want for your finished products or parts. This is the best way to make sure your tooling is optimized for your design.

Describe in intimate detail the function of each part, how the parts will fit together, and so on. These details will also help your toolmaker and injection molding partner in quality assurance — ensuring these tools will create a product that makes that part how you want it.

If you miss out on details, you may end up with huge costs to accommodate last-minute, minor tweaks because the tools don’t mold the part correctly.

List out your expectations

List out your expectations

 

Aside from your design and specifications, be very clear about your expectations. Namely, what do you expect from the injection molding tools you’re having made?

This includes the expected lifetime and production run, which will determine what material your tooling is made from. Generally, toolmakers will recommend using steel molds, which are pretty hardy and can last for a long time. Many steel tools can run well over 10 years, given the right design and maintenance.

But, the more demanding your expectations are, expect that the cost of your tooling will rack up. Your toolmaker will likely recommend higher grades of steel to fit your application. Choosing the right grade also depends on several factors, such as the polymer you’re using, your tooling budget, and so on.

Be sure to discuss this in length with your injection molding partner — their team should also be able to walk you through each factor and each possible material you can use to make your mold.

Run samples to improve quality

Run samples to improve quality

The most crucial thing to ensuring tooling quality is running samples. Ask your tooling partner if they can create sample molds, which will be used in prototyping and test runs for your plastic parts.

Doing this will determine if any adjustments need to be made to the mold design, parameters, or material selection. Having these problem areas discovered and resolved earlier on will help you avoid any costly reworking of tooling and design — saving you plenty of time and money in the long run.

If there are any quality issues, your injection molding partner will be able to determine the probable causes, and figure out how to resolve them. Then, they will re-sample the molds until they are certain the tools will be able to meet your expectations and quality standards.

Key Takeaway

If you want a high-quality injection molded part, then you have to pay strict attention to your tooling. It’s important to get things right the first time around — so follow our tooling tips for injection molded parts to avoid mistakes and create the perfect plastic products.

That being said, these tips won’t work unless you partner with the best. At Richfields, our tooling engineers tap into their decades of design experience to create tooling solutions for various industries. Our team is capable of providing premium service at every step of the tooling process. Message us today to learn how we can help you with your plastic project.

5 Finish Assembly Questions to Ask Your US Injection Molding Company

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What are questions to ask for the finish assembly injection molding process?

  1. What quality measurement standards do they follow?
  2. Do they give full visibility on their internal quality control inspections?
  3. What capacity and experience do they have?
  4. How can they help with getting to the finished product?
  5. How much can they save you?

When working with an injection molding company in the US, many firms do not offer secondary and finishing services. However, when you do find one that has those capabilities and are planning on contracting them for your project, there’s a host of things to consider before a partnership. To ensure they can take care of your product, here are five important questions for injection molding finish assembly that you should ask prospective partners.

What Quality Measurement Standards Do They Follow?

Does the injection molding company you want to work with have clear-cut measurement standards? Of all the standardized quality measurement guidelines, you’ll want to work with a company that follows ISO 9001. This is because this standard requires that the company can consistently meet customer requirements when manufacturing parts.

This is also designed to prevent losses, improve compliance, and ensure proper measurement and monitoring of your products. Ask if the US injection molding company you plan on working with is ISO 9001 certified.

Do They Give Full Visibility On Their Internal Quality Control Inspections?

Do They Give Full Visibility On Their Internal Quality Control Inspections?

It’s not enough that the molding firm tells you about their quality measures. They also have to assure you that you will be receiving full disclosure on their quality control inspections and their findings. While this might seem like a given to some, other injection molding companies come with a heavy dose of opacity and poor communication.

The reason that full visibility is so important is that if you see something you are unhappy with regarding your product, you will still have enough time to discuss and rectify that issue with your injection molder. Otherwise, you might proceed with shipment, payment, and receive an unsatisfactory final product.

So how do you know you’ll stay in the loop? The simplest way is to ask for more details on their quality control process. Ask when they do formal inspections, how those are documented, and how findings are communicated to you. Will they show you a failed report? Can corrective action reports be shared with you?

What Capacity And Experience Do They Have?

When you take on an injection molding service to create your initial and final product, you will want to work with a team with specific qualities and experience.

Consider their project portfolios, reviews, and equipment — try to see if this injection molding company specializes in the product you’re making, or has experience with similar products. It’s a plus if the company has a wide breadth of knowledge, as this ensures your manufacturing partner will know how to adjust quickly to your parts.

Aside from their expertise, their capacity is also very important. Especially for larger production runs, you want to be sure that your injection molding partner can handle the amount of work you need to be done.

They should have no issues storing, working on, and shipping parts. Their company should also have enough space and organizational skills to manage high volume demands without leaving parts outside or scattered about.

How Can They Help With Getting To The Finished Product?

How Can They Help With Getting To The Finished Product?

No two product developments will be alike. This is why this question is important to ask, even more so when your product is fairly complicated, or requires several secondary services. Checking if they know the right development, pre-production phases, secondary services, and finishing touches your product needs is the only way you’ll know production can go smoothly.

Some US injection molding companies have experience with a variety of tasks that can help your project move along to its final stages. Other relevant questions to ask regarding this include the following:

  • How many people will be contracted to work on my project?
  • What kinds of final assembly work do you do?
  • Do certain components of my product need to be sourced?
  • Will finishing be in-house or outsourced to another location?
  • Do you possess the necessary tools, or are there special tools that will need manufacturing?
  • Will you offer shipping services?

How Much Can They Save You?

One of the primary reasons you rely on US injection molding companies to fabricate your products is to cut back on costs. Working with one company at all stages is an incredible cost saver, as it adds savings when it comes to logistics, sourcing, service fees, and more.

Ensuring you’re working with the right partner also helps cut back on potential losses. If the team working on your product from its initial molding to finishing is skilled and attentive, then they will become intimately familiar with its design and parts.

So, make sure to ask about the team that will be in charge of your project, and if they have experience with finishing assembly. If defects should happen, you will want a group that’s familiar with what needs to be done, helping you save time and money.

Key Takeaway

Finding a good company and asking the right questions for finish assembly for injection molding is key to ensuring your product’s manufacturing goes as smoothly as possible.

Here at Richfields, we are ISO certified, we train our people to maintain high manufacturing standards, and we work closely with our clients to ensure the highest satisfaction with our development and manufacturing process.

Unsure of where to get started on your product development? Contact Richfields today and get in touch with our injection molding experts. We can provide consultation and assist you with getting your product through design, development, manufacturing, and more.

8 Key Questions: Designing Injection Molded Medical Parts

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What are some questions when designing injection-molded medical parts?

  1. What is its function?
  2. Is it meant to be reusable or disposable?
  3. What environments is it exposed to?
  4. How durable is my part?
  5. What are my plastic resin options?
  6. How complex is my design?
  7. Is my part price competitive?
  8. What is my injection molding partner capable of?

A large number of the medical tools you see in your clinic or doctor’s office — such as PPE, syringes, IV tubes, and more — are made using plastic injection molding due to the materials and process’ numerous benefits.

For these medical devices, the design phase is a critical time in creating a potentially life-saving product — which is why there are several factors to consider when making injection molded medical parts.

If you’re interested in venturing into this industry, you might be wondering what these are. We’ve identified eight of the most important considerations to include in your design process, along with our advice for gaining advantages for your parts.

What Is Its Function?

The primary driver in designing your injection molded medical parts is their intended functions. Consider the end-use and end-user. Are you designing something that is meant to carry fluids? Or is it an implant meant to last several years? Perhaps it is a lever attached to some medical equipment? Different functions imply various designs.

Even tools with the same general function will have distinct variations. For example, prosthetics have the same general function (i.e. to replace a body part), but a hand prosthetic is vastly different from a leg prosthetic.

Is it Meant to Be Reusable or Disposable?

Is it Meant to Be Reusable or Disposable?

The second thing to consider is the required longevity. There are two types of plastic tools in the medical industry: single-use products and sterilizable products. Single-use products are meant to be disposed of after use, which gives you more leeway in material choice.

Items meant to be used multiple times over need to be sterilized to be medically safe, which means the material you choose needs to withstand repeated exposure to the sterilization method(s) chosen.

For example, the medical part could be steam-sterilized. This means that the resin you choose for your part will need to be resistant to heat and hydrolysis. The part will also have to be compatible with the chosen method. This could mean removing any unnecessary niches on the tool to allow for proper cleaning, along with other design changes. These are the kinds of things to consider when designing a medical part meant for repeated use.

What Environments Is It Exposed To?

Third, consider the environment that this medical part will be used in. For example, parts that are to be used in a laboratory may need to withstand friction and impact, as they will be handled by several people throughout their lifetime.

Another example is an implant, which is designed to be placed inside a patient’s body. The plastic part should therefore be able to handle liquids, heat, movement, and corrosive substances.

Additionally, the implant’s design needs the patient’s comfort and safety in mind. The design and materials you choose for your part should factor in the environment it will be exposed to.

How Durable is My Part?

How Durable is My Part?

When it comes to medical parts, those that can easily break or shatter aren’t suitable for use. They are an inconvenience and pose health hazards not just for the patient, but also for the medical professional handling the tool. As such, your design should consider how durable your part needs to be, and which materials offer resistance to breakage and shattering.

What are My Plastic Resin Options?

There are several different resins used in injection molding for medical parts. From silicone to polyetheretherketone (PEEK) to thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), the choices are almost endless.

With that wide selection of materials, there is a wide range of bio-compatibilities and mechanical properties. Though you might think that an extensive list of choices makes it easier, choosing the best resin is more complicated than it seems.

For example, you might find that several resins fit your needs. What you should consider in that case is how effective each one is. For example, two resins might be shatterproof, but one is more durable against wear and tear. Another thing to consider is availability. One resin might seem perfect for the job, but it is difficult to source. As a result, your costs shoot up — something you should avoid.

How Complex is My Design?

How Complex is My Design?

To make high-quality parts and reduce the need for extensive prototyping and revising, you need to consider how complex your design ought to be. Is your design overly complicated? Did you consider all the basic factors of manufacturability?

A very complex design does not mean that it is a good one — it might just mean you’re taking more steps than you should. To make a fit-for-use part and make your injection molding process consistent, your design should meet your demands practically. Consulting with your injection molding partner and their engineers should help you make smart adjustments.

Is My Part Price Competitive?

Ultimately, you should consider how your medical parts will be priced once your design, materials, and injection molding process are factored in.

Ideally, your products should be able to compete with the value and price of others on the market. Your pricing is dependent on your design — more complex designs, the use of certain machines, and tooling options can increase costs significantly.

However, if you are making thousands of parts, consider expensive mold materials and features for your injection molding. While these have a larger initial investment, they pay for themselves in long, high-volume runs due to time and material savings. If you strike a balance between your tooling investment and volume production, you can get a bigger return on your investment. You can also ask your injection molding partner about ways they can help you reduce your overall costs.

What is My Injection Molding Partner Capable Of?

What is My Injection Molding Partner Capable Of?

Simply put, the skill and capabilities of an injection molding partner differ from one to the next. Not all companies are equipped to offer the same solutions. As such, you should consider the following questions when choosing your partner:

  • What certifications and compliances do they have?
  • Do they have experience manufacturing products for my industry?
  • What is their track record as an injection molding company?
  • Do they use the latest technology, software, and automated machines?
  • Do they offer preventative maintenance plans for my injection mold?

All of these considerations can lead to a partner who can offer cost-effective, high-quality solutions to your project specifications.

Key Takeaway

Injection molded medical parts have several constraints and requirements that need to be incorporated into different designs to ensure their usability and success.

Having processed many projects of this nature, Richfields’ expertise can help your team avoid common mishaps, enhance your design, and ensure consistent and trustworthy services. Take a look at our capabilities here, or send us a message today to learn more about how we can assist you.

7 Advantages of Using Plastic in Healthcare

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What are the advantages of using plastic in healthcare?

  1. Versatile
  2. Sterile
  3. Safe
  4. Ergonomic
  5. Durable
  6. Cost-Effective
  7. Compatible

Plastic is one of the most abundant materials used for commercial and consumer products. Its malleable form and various synthetic and organic compounds have made it a useful commodity in the medical industry as well as countless others.

When it comes to choosing materials for medical use, its capability of meeting exacting standards is an important aspect to consider. Due to their many beneficial aspects, modern plastics have become a good fit for this purpose. Read on to learn more about the advantages of using plastic in healthcare.

Versatile

Plastic is a highly versatile material. This is due to the variety of resins available to the consumer market. Each plastic resin exhibits unique properties and can be rendered with greater flexibility than most other traditional materials (such as metal).

Medical devices often involve intricate designs and are meant to withstand many different substances and environmental factors. Plastic resins are a practical choice; each resin can fulfill a variety of purposes and can do so without additional treatments or processing.

Plastic manufacturing also uses computer-guided machining to create the complex structures of medical devices. Modern techniques such as plastic injection molding are capable of using mold designs to create parts with detailed geometries. These machines are also capable of producing each part in a matter of seconds, making the process exceptionally efficient.

Sterile

Sterile

Medical equipment needs to be sterile to avoid contamination. The spread of dangerous microorganisms from a tool to a patient can be stopped by using specialized plastic resins, which are designed to have antimicrobial surfaces. This material is extremely effective in repelling bacteria, and can even eradicate them from its surface.

Plastic is also useful for single-use equipment. These products are meant to be disposed of after the procedure is finished to avoid infecting users or patients. Plastic products are lightweight and can easily be thrown away after use, without needing additional treatment to safely dispose of them.

Medical-grade plastics are also used outside of healthcare centers to prevent cross-contamination of substances. In testing facilities, workers use plastic containers and tools to research new formulas or medicines. Using plastic can speed up this process by eliminating the chances of a compromised study.

Safe

Medical-grade plastics are made to be shatter-proof and non-permeable. As such, it makes these plastic products extremely safe for use. In particular, they provide a great solution for safely transporting delicate or hazardous substances. This property also makes plastic tools safe to use around patients, and even if inserted inside the body.

Plastics are also used to create tamper-proof caps on medical supplies. This seal is often found on pharmaceuticals or in the packaging of controlled substances. These caps are difficult to manipulate without fully breaking the seal. This ensures that the supplies haven’t been altered or used in any way, which is integral to the patient’s safety.

Ergonomic

Ergonomic

Plastic materials are much lighter than metal. Thus, plastic medical instruments are easier to use and maneuver. The reduced weight also enhances the comfort of using these tools, which makes them an ergonomic choice for healthcare workers. Ergonomic design can help reduce fatigue during longer operations, such as surgery.

Plastic can also be an ergonomic solution for patients. This is due to plastic resins being highly customizable, which allows them to take on greater design capabilities than other materials. Its customizability is key to ensuring these items are user-friendly and fit for the specific patient. Therefore, plastics can be used in several specialized products, like prosthetics.

Durable

While many materials in the medical industry — such as metals — are fairly durable, they are prone to weathering from chemical and environmental factors. This can shorten the instrument’s lifespan, and significant weathering can render it unusable.

When the same items are made with plastic resins, they can withstand similar factors for much longer. This is because most plastics are naturally resistant to many physical, chemical, and environmental effects. As such, plastic tools and devices are more durable and can be used multiple times for long periods without wear.

Cost-Effective

Cost-Effective

Using plastic tools is a cost-efficient solution to metal and glass tools, which are easily corroded or shattered in everyday operations. Unlike these materials, plastic tools are highly resistant to most external effects and are designed to handle repeat uses and sterilizations. Due to their longevity and versatility, medical-grade plastic instruments are a good investment for healthcare facilities.

Single-use plastic equipment is also much cheaper to make. Plastic resins are priced significantly lower than most other raw materials, and these resins are also easy to process. Plastic injection molding can easily make thousands upon thousands of the same products or components for single-use items, reducing the overhead costs of medical facilities.

Compatible

Some plastic components are highly compatible with medical devices, such as x-ray machines. They are a better option than metal components, as metals can interfere with the imaging technology in these devices. Many imaging tools use magnetism to obtain internal imaging, and metals can alter the direction and efficiency of this magnetism. With plastic components, this isn’t a problem, and x-ray machines can capture sharper images.

Key Takeaway

Due to the many advantages of using plastic in healthcare, plastic materials are quickly replacing metal and glass components in the medical industry. This material has played a significant role in improving the versatility and usability of medical instruments and devices.

This is supported by the innovative use of new polymers, and the expertise provided by plastic injection molding companies like Richfields. With us, you can expect superior plastic products at competitive prices. Contact us today to learn more about our services!

China vs US: Factors That Impact Resin Pricing

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What are factors that impact resin pricing in China and the US?

  1. Upstream Assets and Feedstocks
  2. Inventory
  3. Industry Trends
  4. Labor and Production Capacity
  5. Capacity Adjustments
  6. Policies and Geo-political Events

Pricing for materials changes near constantly — in a single day, the cost of resin can go up and down multiple times. With so many volatile factors in the market, it is becoming increasingly difficult for plastic manufacturers and consumers to predict prices.

Price volatility greatly affects your business’ financial results. This can cause your profit margins to become narrower and narrower, resulting in a greater risk of loss. However, the factors that impact resin pricing can provide some predictability in your business’ raw material costs. This knowledge can help you better manage your operations and make smarter purchasing decisions.

Upstream Assets and Feedstocks

Upstream Assets and Feedstocks

Upstream assets are what plastic refiners and manufacturers use in the production of crude oils and natural gases. These are market fundamentals that are affected by their country and their company’s drilling rights, physical extraction, and refining process.

At each phase of the plastic resin manufacturing process — from oils and gas to end products — there are regulatory, technological, and economic factors that affect the whole value chain. The more restrictions there are, the more expensive resins will be priced. Since the creation of this market, the US has been a strong competitor with multiple crude oil and gas collection and refining facilities all over the world.

Feedstock on the other hand refers to the materials that are converted into plastic resins. These are the crude oils, natural gasses, as well as additives used in making different types of resins. The costs of these materials are affected by availability and market demand. When these materials are short in supply, producing the resins becomes more expensive. As a result, manufacturers may sell their resins at a higher price to recover costs from their customers.

Inventory

The inventory of plastic resins can also affect their market rate. If plastic manufacturers have a surplus of plastic — for example, polyethylene — they may offer their resins at a discounted price to reduce inventory costs.

Meanwhile, low supply often creates a high demand, which then increases resin prices. Most manufacturers will try to price their products competitively to meet supply and demand at any given time.

Generally, US manufacturers can keep their resin prices on the lower end due to their large crude oil and natural gas extracting and refining capabilities. The US has been at the top of the global market since the start of the trade, and as a result, has more control over resin pricing than most other countries.

On the other hand, China has been able to create a robust oil import and refining industry in the last decade. China’s goal is to add more capacity by establishing several new plants in India and the Middle East. By doing so, they are becoming a growing force in the international market for plastic resins — but they have yet to overtake the US in its top spot.

Industry Trends

Industry Trends

Trends among different industries have a hand at the prices of the industry as well. In the US, the demand for pre-packaged meals is growing, and as a result, the demand for plastic resins is increasing. This can lead to higher prices if the capacity for resin production is low, or if these facilities’ inventory is not able to meet demand. However, this growing demand can also further drive industry growth, which allows the country to establish more resin refining and production facilities.

There is also a growing trend of moving from rigid product packaging to flexible plastics. This is because the resins used in flexible packaging tend to be cheaper. This trend can lead to many facilities focusing on the acquisition and production of specific resins. With more facilities focusing on these materials, then these resins become cheaper for consumers to purchase as the producers create a surplus.

Labor and Production

The production of plastic resin also varies depending on the country it is refined in. US facilities often use feedstocks of natural gas. With polypropylene (PP), US manufacturers use crude oils. In other countries, like China, refining plants mostly use crude oils.

What this means is that the US-made plastic resin can be sold at a lower price when crude oil prices rise. On the other hand, when natural gas supplies are low, China-made plastic resins can be priced more competitively when compared to US products.

Another factor that affects resin pricing is the availability and cost of labor. In producing resins, your facility will need a talented workforce to create high-quality end-use products. When it comes to this factor, the cost of labor in US plastic resin manufacturers is generally higher than using those from China.

This is because labor is abundant and cheap in China. Labor wages are cheaper, there is a large, trained workforce available at any time, and there are fewer health and safety regulations to account for. However, using US-based labor has the benefits of added policies and regulations to ensure high-quality products that can meet demanding standards — such as the products used for medical or automotive industries.

Capacity Adjustments

Capacity Adjustments

The industry’s capacity to meet demand can also impact the prices of plastic resin. This includes the production, transportation, manufacturing processes. For example, if there is high demand for polyethylene resins, but many refining facilities have delayed material deliveries due to inclement weather, then their end-product pricing will be raised.

The US market has a great capacity for plastic resin production, however, this capacity is greatly affected by outside forces — such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many US-based facilities have shut down over the last year due to financial and logistic problems caused by the virus. Another factor affecting US capacity is the push for biofuels, which has caused some businesses to repurpose their facilities and stop producing resins.

Having too many facilities can also negatively affect pricing. This happens when production outpaces demand, causing a surplus. This is the case with the China market. New refining and manufacturing plants have increased their production capacities beyond the predicted demand growth. If the market demand stays on the predicted trend for the next few years, then these China-based facilities may shut down.

Policies and Geo-Political Events

Policies and events that affect the demand for plastic end products can increase or reduce demands for resins. These changes can be felt on local and international scales. For example, if the US makes a push for plastic alternatives — such as biodegradable packaging — this will reduce the demand for single-use packaging made from polyethylene resins.

On the other hand, events that push countries to produce more single-use plastics for sanitary reasons will greatly increase the demand for plastic resin. One current geopolitical event that is doing so is the pandemic. From the medical industry down to the regular consumer, there is still the ongoing demand for PPE like face masks, face shields, and disposable gloves.

Certain policies and events make plastic resin prices soar due to high demand, and these prices will be especially high if there is low inventory and capacity of the plastic resin industry. In contrast, governments and trends moving towards alternative products can also cause demand to drop, forcing manufacturers to price their resins competitively to reduce loss.

Key Takeaway

Given the many factors that impact resin pricing, it can be difficult for many to accurately predict the pricing trends. However, being aware of the possible changes can help you get a better handle on the market and its associated risks, giving you a clearer image of your overall management plans.

If your business is a customer of plastic resins, investing in a reliable partnership with experienced manufacturers can help you in keeping abreast of fluctuating prices and unexpected costs. With a partner like Richfields, you can trust them to supply high-quality resins at the best prices you can afford despite the unpredictable market.

Plastic Injection Molding Solutions for the Medical Industry in the US

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Why are plastic injection molding solutions used for the US medical industry?

  1. Control and Reliability
  2. Stringent Standards and Processes
  3. Efficient Production of High Volumes
  4. Ideal for Enclosures
  5. Provides Versatility for Medical Products

Hospitals, laboratories, clinics, and medical colleges around the world use numerous plastic products every day. This material can be found in medical appliances, tools, and equipment — the applications are nearly limitless. But as with everything else in the medical industry, these products need to meet a certain standard to fit the job.

These demanding requirements have led to plastic injection molding solutions in the US medical industry growing in popularity for the past decade. Read on to see what these qualities are, and why this fabrication solution has become widely used in the industry.

Control and Reliability

Control and Reliability

This control and reliability are extremely useful when it comes to manufacturing medical devices. Most tools and equipment used by the medical field are extremely sensitive and have to meet exact specifications to operate under unique stressors. For this reason, these devices have to be engineered with their end-use in mind from the start of the manufacturing process.

The method of injection molding itself is almost a hundred years old, and in that time it has been continuously refined to the point where it has become one of the best fabrication methods in the world. In combination with new digital technology, there is now modeling software available to help automate most of the tool design process. This software helps to create the best possible die for any job. All these advancements have made it so that the process of plastic injection molding is controllable and reliable.

Stringent Standards and Processes

When using plastic injection molding to create medical instruments and parts, numerous standards must be met. The manufacturing operation is put under significant scrutiny by the FDA, which looks out for any issues regarding the material, process, and mechanical performance of the produced parts. Each device in the plastic injection molding process has to pass its examination to be cleared for use.

Additionally, injection molding manufacturers need to be certified to ISO 13485 standards in order to produce any medical devices. This means that every plastic injection molding company hired by the medical industry in the US can guarantee that they are knowledgeable about the standards and regulations. This ensures compliance and expertise in producing any kind of medical equipment.

Knowing that these plastic injection molding solutions are headed by those with the necessary experience and know-how gives the medical industry some peace of mind when having new plastic devices manufactured. They are reassured that each component will be designed, engineered, and manufactured to meet the most stringent standards and processes.

Efficient Production of High Volumes

Efficient Production of High Volumes

As with all molding processes, plastic injection molding uses a die and molding tool to make any component. Once the die and tool are designed to meet any specifications of the medical device, the same implements can be made to make thousands upon thousands of the same medical parts.

The plastic injection molding process is very robust and repeatable and can ensure a consistent product run so long as the die and tools are maintained properly. Unlike metal materials, plastic is more pliable and won’t quickly wear down the die. This means that production can run month after month without much issue.

Large production volumes are possible and can be executed by the same machines quickly and economically. This process can easily make plastic items such as containers, tubes, and syringes with ease — in fact, injection molding is perfect for making any generic plastic items that are used in the US medical industry.

Ideal for Enclosures

Plastic molding is especially suited to making plastic enclosures commonly used in the medical industry. While there are other methods capable of making the same enclosures, other production methods have several drawbacks — they tend to be slower, consume more material, and cost more in the long run. The benefits of sticking with injection molding make it the best choice.

Enclosures used in the medical field come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some of them are large plastic housings made for delicate medical equipment. Others are simpler, such as tool holding trays or pill dispensers. As plastic is lightweight but durable, it makes it a cheap but effective material for the job. On top of that, plastic does not interfere with electromagnetic energy (such as those used in CAT scans or x-rays), nor is it affected by radiation.

Provides Versatility for Medical Products

Provides Versatility for Medical Products

With the use of dies, plastic injection molding is an extremely versatile process that can create complex design features with high precision. In the molding process, plastic is injected into a cavity and against the die, which allows it to take complicated shapes with ease.

Aside from the process, the plastic resins — such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene — themselves offer much versatility. Depending on the resin being used, there will be different mechanical and chemical properties that can meet a specific end-use. These resins can be biocompatible, chemical resistant, heat-stable, and have other properties that make them useful for a wide range of medical applications.

Key Takeaway

The exacting requirements of manufacturing medical supplies make it a difficult operation to supply needed parts. However, with the use of plastic injection molding solutions, the US medical industry has been able to create and implement numerous plastic products into their operations. These plastic components can be found in a wide range of medical appliances, tools, and equipment due to the many benefits produced by the plastic molding injection process.

This process is only possible with the expertise and services of excellent injection molding companies like Richfields. If you are seeking high-quality and prompt injection molding services, contact us today!