Plastic certainly has its critics but there’s no denying that most of the world’s population has been helped at some point by plastic used in medical parts, devices, appliances, and packaging. Whether this be in a hospital, clinic or laboratory. The variety of devices that have been injection moulded is enormous and the possibilities are pretty much endless.
Why is Plastic Injection Moulding so Popular?
Injection moulding is extremely popular as it delivers large numbers of high-quality parts quickly and accurately. It is also very cost-effective for medium to high-volume product runs. However, it’s not only the versatility of the process that makes it so well received. Many of the plastic resins have shown their quality and durability in several different devices that obtaining regulatory approval for a new device might be simpler if the same raw materials are used.
The process is simple. Plastic material in the form of granules is melted until soft enough to be injected under pressure to fill a mould. The shape is therefore identical for all parts. Once the plastic moulding has cooled sufficiently to harden the injection mould opens releasing the part. The whole process then repeats.
Benefits of Plastic Injection Moulding
Here are the top 3 reasons for choosing injection moulding for your medical device.
1. Process Control and Reliability
With injection moulding being around for nearly 100 years, the process has developed and improved so that it is extremely reliable, consistent and delivers the highest quality medical devices. Thanks to modern digital controls on plastic injection moulding machines, the process parameters can be quickly tuned for optimal performance and to reduce the production lead time of injection moulded medical devices to a minimum. This will also help to reduce the cost of your medical devices.
2. Economical
The first stage of any injection moulded product is the design of a tool and die. If the medical device features a complex shape an equally complex tool might be needed. This will therefore require design time and an investment. However, once the tool is ready it is possible to make thousands of medical parts quickly and cost effectively. In fact, larger production volumes tend to recoup the tooling cost over time because of lower price-per-part.
3. Versatility
When using injection moulding there are hundreds of different resins to choose from that are easily available. Most of which are suitable for medical devices due to their mechanical and chemical properties. There are resins which are heat stable, chemically resistant, strong, lightweight, biodegradable, and biocompatible. With such a wide variety of plastic resins available for injection moulding, you can find one best suited to your device.
How to find out more about Injection Moulding
It’s not surprising that there are many more advantages of using injection moulding when manufacturing medical devices. That is why it is essential that you appoint a contract manufacturer, such as Europlaz, who has the experience, knowledge and facilities to get your product to market quickly, cost effectively whilst ensuring it is off the highest quality.
For more information please contact us.
