Earlier this week, another medical injection molder made news when Total Molding Services announced that it has been acquired by Haartz Family Holdings, changing its name to Moldgenix in the process.

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF). (2023, April 13). Enabling Miniaturization with Micro Precision 3D Printing. AZoM. Retrieved on September 28, 2024 from https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=22490.

The trend toward miniaturization is growing, as the demand for smaller parts and components in the fields of medical devices, biotech, electronics, and wearables increases. However, the cost is a significant challenge in manufacturing miniaturized parts for medical devices, electronics, and optics. Traditional 3D printing struggles with producing smaller parts, but micro 3D printing can deliver precision for complex components at scales as small as a single micron.

In February, Atalys announced that it is tripling the size of its existing facility in the Dominican Republic from 15,000 to 47,000 square feet through the addition of a new 32,000-square-foot building. The company said that the new building will be dedicated to manual assembly with complementary injection molding, pad printing, tool repair, and warehousing. The existing facility will become the company's primary plastics processing site focused on cleanroom injection molding as well as secondary operations such as testing and packaging.

The elevated cost of tooling for micro-injection molds and the minimal volume of the parts requiring less material greatly impacts the cost analysis. 3D printing can be more cost-effective and efficient than traditional manufacturing processes depending on the output volume needed, and this crossover point gets higher as the parts get smaller. The fact that 3D printing doesn't require tooling has always been an advantage. This advantage is even more obvious when looking at micro-injection molding. The cost of a single cavity complex micro mold can often cost upwards of $100k.

At BMF, we offer a range of materials with different properties for various applications. As an open-source material company, we have our own line of formulated liquid resins that are made specifically for our line of micro-precision 3D printers, but we also partner with material companies to provide third-party material options that give flexibility based on the application.

Micro-precision 3D printing is a technique used to create 3D parts with extremely high resolution, accuracy and precision, typically with features that are smaller than 100µm.

Recent advances in 3D printing have led to materials with mechanical properties approaching those of traditional injection molding materials. End-use materials are now reaching 90% of the strength and flexibility of injection molding materials. Functional designs are now possible using these materials.

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF). "Enabling Miniaturization with Micro Precision 3D Printing". AZoM. 28 September 2024. .

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF). "Enabling Miniaturization with Micro Precision 3D Printing". AZoM. https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=22490. (accessed September 28, 2024).

Schnipke has tooling and plastic injection molding operations at its headquarters in Ottoville, OH, and operates a second manufacturing facility in Tucson, AZ. The company is FDA registered and is certified to ISO 13485:2016.

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Boston Micro Fabrication delivers one of the highest levels of precision available on the market, and we manufacture and sell printers capable of achieving 2µm, 10µm and 25µm resolution parts. Our 2µm series includes the microArch S130 and S230, both capable of achieving tolerances within +/-10µm.

The uncured resin inside the channel must be removed after printing, which we have accomplished using various techniques, such as chemical washing and vacuum removal, developed in the past 18 months.

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF). 2023. Enabling Miniaturization with Micro Precision 3D Printing. AZoM, viewed 28 September 2024, https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=22490.

Plastics injection molder Atalys LLC announced yesterday that it has acquired Schnipke Engraving Co. LLC. Both companies provide injection molding and related services to medical device OEMs. Atalys, based in Rochester, NY, said the acquisition will enhance its manufacturing capabilities, technology, and geographical footprint.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited (T/A) AZoNetwork, the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and Conditions of use of this website.

This method is capable of manufacturing end-use parts for short-run production, which are challenging to produce using traditional methods. For small-scale injection molding, 3D printing is a cost-effective alternative to creating molds and casting tools, as traditional machining requirements become more expensive as parts decrease in size.

Editor in chief of PlasticsToday since 2015, Norbert Sparrow has more than 30 years of editorial experience in business-to-business media. He studied journalism at the Centre Universitaire d'Etudes du Journalisme in Strasbourg, France, where he earned a master's degree.

"Our acquisition of Schnipke was driven by a focused strategy to deepen our capabilities, capacity, and technical superiority across the entire manufacturing process for medical device components,” said Vinc Ellerbrock, president and CEO of Atalys. “The addition of Schnipke adds two manufacturing sites for scalable growth, broadens our geographic presence and reach, enables us to serve a wider array of customers, and significantly augments our technical capabilities,” said Ellerbrock.

Post-processing for DLP or SLA-based part production involves post-washing to remove uncured resin and removing supports. Our photo-polymer-based process follows the same steps, but our small parts require less solvent and support. Form Wash and Form Cure devices are used for post-processing and are effective for our micro 3D printed parts.

At BMF, we are essentially helping engineers 3D print parts they have not been able to in the past - that match the quality of an injection molded part at a fraction of the cost.

Additionally, as parts become smaller, they become more expensive to produce, and the cost of injection molds for micro components can be hundreds of thousands of dollars, as opposed to $10,000. This economic reality is leading many manufacturers to explore the potential of 3D printing for their manufacturing needs.

We have recently developed and validated several new materials which are now available for use on BMF’s microArch platforms. These include BMF MED and LOCTITE 3D 3955. BMF MED powered by 3D Systems is a custom-formulated biocompatible resin that meets the requirements of FDA class II biocompatibility.  This combined with its great aging properties makes it suitable for end-use medical devices, pharmaceutical, and research applications. This resin also features fast and simple post-processing requirements for improved ease of use.

Also key to the cost analysis, the printed parts use very little material, so material costs are minimal. With micro 3D printing, you can print tens of thousands of parts before the amortization of the tool is realized. If you only need 100's of parts, the value of micro 3D printing skyrockets. Quite simply, fabricating micro parts through traditional manufacturing methods is costly and difficult. BMF's PµSL technology is a very attractive alternate solution for complex, micro parts.

In addition to its headquarters in Rochester, Atalys has manufacturing facilities in Asheboro, NC, and the Dominican Republic. The New York and North Carolina plants have multiple Class 8 cleanrooms for molding and assembly on site; the Santo Domingo site in the Dominican Republic offers cleanroom assembly and automation. The company said it adheres to scientific molding principles and is equipped with presses ranging in size from “near micro molding” to 1,400 tons.

Boston Micro Fabrication uses a 3D printing approach called PμSL (Projection Micro Stereolithography) that leverages light, customizable optics, a high quality movement platform and controlled processing technology to produce the industry’s most accurate and precise high-resolution 3D prints for product development, research and industrial short run production. The technology represents a true industry breakthrough by empowering product manufacturers to capitalize on the benefits of 3D printing without sacrificing quality or scale, helping push new boundaries in innovation.

We offer sample parts and benchmark parts at no cost to prospective customers to evaluate our technology, which is a crucial aspect of our sales process. If you'd like to request a sample part, please visit our website and submit a request.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Often, 3D printing is used to accelerate prototyping and design testing across a number of industries. Single-use disposable medical devices are a great fit, as well as microfluidics, electronic connectors and components and drug delivery systems. On top of these applications, we're helping advance the industry's use of 3D printing through self-drive innovation.

The smaller the part and the more complex the geometry, the trickier it is to manufacture. So, at BMF, we are fulfilling a real need, making prototypes and end-use parts for small, complex geometries - available faster and at much cheaper costs than other methods.

Conventionally, these parts are manufactured using injection molding. The smaller and more complex a part is, the higher the cost associated with creating a mold and the turnaround time can be months. BMF is disrupting traditional manufacturing with 3D printing, enabling engineers to create prototypes at a fraction of the time and cost to be used for fit and form testing, manufacturing aids, molding and casting tools, and end-use parts for production.

John is the CEO of Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) an additive manufacturing technology company with a focus on high resolution, accuracy and precision.  From 2016 to 2019, John served as President-Americas for Ultimaker, the leading open source desktop 3D printing company.  From 2012 to 2016, John was the CEO of Harvest Automation.  Harvest developed and deployed an autonomous mobile robotic platform that assists workers with difficult, repetitive material handling. John was VP of Sales and then CEO of Z Corporation from 1997 until 2012.  Z Corporation led the way in introducing fast, easy to use and full color 3D printing into a wide range of industries.  John is also currently the Chairman of Labminds, a laboratory automation technology company and a Board Director at Industrial ML, an industrial machine learning company.  John received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, MS in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer and an MBA from Union College.

Surface finish ranges between 0.5 to 2 microns RA, depending on the orientation of the surface. Feature size is usually a multiple of the resolution, such as 10 microns or 2 microns. For example, a 10-micron resolution can produce features of approximately 50 microns, while a 2-micron resolution can achieve features of around 10 microns.

We also recently collaborated with Henkel to validate LOCTITE 3D 3955 for use on the microArch platforms. This material is compatible with our new microArch S350 printer for printing flame-resistant parts at 25µm resolution. This high-performance halogen-free flame retardant UL94-V0 high modulus photopolymer resin is suitable for end-use parts including electrical connectors, housings, electronic components, and other parts requiring high flame resistance or the ability to withstand harsh environments.

Founded in 1967, Schnipke has established a reputation for building tools in-house and designing and engineering molds that meet the medical device industry's stringent requirements for precision at extremely tight tolerances, said the news release. The company claims on its website that it can mold within tolerances of +/-0.001 inches and as small as 0.02 grams in weight. Even smaller dimensions can be accommodated upon customer request.

In this Interview, AZoMaterials speaks to Boston Micro Fabrication's CEO John Kawola, about micro precision 3D printing.

The shift towards short-run production using 3D printing is currently underway, with some of our early customers utilizing this technology to qualify their processes. Due to various economic factors, such as supply chain issues, many manufacturers are feeling the pressure and are thus considering this approach as an alternative solution.