MEDICAL | INNOVATION
some cancer treatments.” Research shows that gold nanoparticles in some cases help to destroy cancer cells, so are used in aspects of chemo- therapy. The number of minimally invasive surgeries is also on the rise and expected to drive greater adoption of micro-IM over the coming years. MHS Mold Hotrunner
Solutions has launched the M3 micro injection moulding machine, a production cell
Above: Complex diagnostic equipment, catheter
components, implants, dental prosthetics, and hearing aids are all examples of micro moulded components
for direct gating small and micro-sized plastic parts, such as medical devices. The turnkey moulding machine is aimed at an increasing number of OEMs and manufacturers looking to miniaturisation. The M3 is a dedicated micro injection moulding machine capable of producing small, direct gated plastic parts on a large scale. The electro-pneumatic moulding cell delivers both high volume and low volume production capabili- ties to all industries that require extreme precision, quality, speed and flexibility. The company says that the M3 offers all the advantages of direct valve gate hot runner technol- ogy. Eliminating cold runners improves part quality, speeds up cycle times and reduces waste in the form of scrap material. This results in substantial savings especially when moulding highly valuable plastics, such as PEEK or bioabsorbables. With conventional cold runner micro moulding, it is common for the weight of the runner to be multiple times greater than the weight of the part produced. The M3 can direct gate parts as small as 0.001 g with a fine gate diameter of 0.5 mm (0.0197 inches). The improved accuracy of the high pressure
Right: The Summit Series from Mold- Masters
Isokor injection process is claimed to improve the part quality and consistency of each part. The machine has a substantially lower melt residence time than conventional solutions and therefore protects against plastic degradation in the runners, one of the biggest problems in micro moulding. Micro injection moulding is very different from conventional moulding, adds MHS. A moulder has to ‘baby’ the material because only a miniscule amount of plastic moving through the system is being con- sumed with each cycle. In some cases, a single grain of granulate can produce ten parts or more. Features of the M3 include: high quality,
direct gated parts without wasted cold runner material or secondary processes; faster cycle times for small parts ranging from 0.001- 0.400 g (generally ranging from 4-6 s,
26 INJECTION WORLD | September 2018
www.injectionworld.com
depending on the part); high production outputs of up to 60 million direct gated plastic parts per year; fast, cost effective prototype moulding and low volume moulding; an ability to produce two different part designs with each shot, each with different part weights; a small footprint and easy to move with levelling castors; integrated automation featuring standard touchless parts handling and take-out; cleanroom options; and energy savings. According to Thomas Bechtel, Sales Director
Packaging & Medical at Mold-Masters, the medical market continues to drive innovation towards achieving perfection in every aspect of each moulded part. “Similar to other industries, moulders specialising in medical products continue to evolve in order to accommodate modern resin grades that can be extremely demanding and challenging to process with traditional equipment and technolo- gies,” he says. “Additionally, like other markets, there is a demand to reduce costs and increase productivity that has started to reach the medical market; this is driving higher cavitations, cycle time reductions and a shift to emerging markets. All of which are trends that Mold-Masters is already successfully participating in with large medical OEMs and converters through our high-perfor- mance technology and global support network.” Bechtel says materials commonly used by the medical market include PC, POM, and PBT, which can have shear and temperature sensitivity. “Also, when fire retardant additives and fillers are included they can also become corrosive and abrasive. Over time, this wears down and degrades the channels and components of the hot runner system leading to contamination defects and other issues. New solutions were needed to resolve these processing issues.” Mold-Masters adds that it
has introduced
PHOTO: SUMITOMO (SHI) DEMAG
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