According to ELIX, grade ELIX P2MC is considered by customers as best-in-class in terms of its ability to adhere to metal; scrap rates of plated parts are reported to be lower than with any competing material after more than 15 years in production. Now the company is unveiling an upgraded version of P2MC as well as new ABS grades to complete the plating portfolio. Target applications for these electroplating grades include radiator grilles, logos, profiles, tailgate handles, and decorative interior parts.

ELIX Polymers has also developed two more electroplating grades. A high heat version, of the flagship ABS grade, HH P2MC, together with a platable ABS/polycarbonate (ABS/PC) blend, Ultra HH4115PG, complete the company's plating portfolio.

The new HH P2MC grade has similar behavior to the original P2MC in terms of processability and properties, but its heat deflection temperature (HDT) is several degrees higher, at around 104°C. In addition, the material has several other advantages over other platable high heat grades in the market, such as compliance with automotive low emission requirements.

In booth 1911, Accumold will be showcasing some of the tiny titans it has produced to exacting specifications for medical device OEMs over its nearly 40-year history. A highlight are thin-walled cannulas that the company can now micro injection mold at volume.

IME South comes to the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC, on June 4 to 6, 2024. In addition to more than 300 exhibitors on the show floor, the event features more than 40 educational sessions led by experts in 3D printing, medical technology, packaging, and smart manufacturing. A welcome reception is scheduled at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 4. Tickets are available for purchase when you register to attend.

Now that NPE2024 is history, there are some admittedly smaller but still worthy trade shows on the horizon for sourcing suppliers of plastics processing services. One that you may want to consider attending is Plastec South, co-located with Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) alongside packaging, automation, design and manufacturing, and Powder Bulk Solids trade shows under the IME South umbrella in Charlotte, NC. In particular, a pioneer of medical micro molding will be exhibiting at the event in June.

The medical device industry demands absolute precision, totally repeatable manufacturing processes, and zero failure rates for products that are frequently used in safety-critical applications, notes Accumold in its announcement.

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin supplier ELIX Polymers is introducing new ABS plating grades at the VDI "Plastics in Automotive Engineering" congress in Mannheim, Germany (March 9th and 10th).

Exhibitor Accumold will explain how micro molding thin-walled cannulas reduces labor requirements and cost compared with conventional production methods.

The ISO 13485–certified company is sufficiently large to offer affordable pricing and the capacity and infrastructure to ramp up to full mass-volume manufacturing, he added.

Over the last three years, ELIX Polymers has dedicated some additional efforts and made important investments to strengthen its position in this select market. The result has been the development of innovative improvements in specific parts of polymer manufacturing in order to obtain the highest purity of ABS and a better surface quality in finished parts. Improvements to the rubber emulsion step and to SAN mass polymerization at the core of the manufacturing process for the ABS plating grade have led to an improved version of the P2MC material.

“Accumold is rightly today acknowledged as the world leader when it comes to the manufacture of extraordinarily small plastic parts that require extreme precision — typically measured in microns,” said Paul Runyan, VP of sales and marketing. “The company is adept at the production of small-sized parts with micro features from 5 cm to less than 1 mm, and has specific expertise in insert molding, two-shot molding, and cleanroom molding using an array of materials including PEEK, liquid crystal polymers, and most engineering thermoplastics.”

For applications where even higher temperature resistance or impact strength is required, platable ABS/PC grades provide a solution. ELIX has therefore developed Ultra HH4115PG, an ABS modified with PC with very competitive advantages over PC-ABS grades (PC modified with ABS) in terms of processability, lightweighting and costs. Adherence of the metal phase is also one of its strong points.

"Most of our galvano and electroplating customers have tested the material with very good results and have expressed their satisfaction," says Toni Prunera, Head of Quality and Business Development. "One of the leading licensors of plating technologies has tested the material, validated it and is now recommending it to our customers."

All grades in the portfolio have special material formulations dedicated to electroplating process requirements, ensuring high quality for class A surfaces. "An intensive control and selection of raw materials is in place," says Prunera.

The company routinely molds cannulas at volume with outside diameters of 0.035 in. (0.889 mm), inner diameters of 0.027 in. (0.6858 mm), and wall thicknesses measuring 0.004 in.(0.1016 mm). “We have achieved this through attention to material choice, several critical design for manufacturing operations, assembly considerations, maintaining a balanced aspect ratio to avoid challenges associated with flow dynamics, cooling, structural integrity, and importantly through the use of our proprietary micro-molding presses,” explained Runyan. “Micro molding thin-walled cannulas is a game changer for medical device manufacturers, overcoming the labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive traditional thin-wall cannula manufacturing processes such as extrusion, tipping, and gluing to a metal hub.”

Vertical integration enables the company to operate as a one-stop partner in the development and manufacture of medical devices and components, added Runyan. “Under one roof, Accumold offers design and material assistance, micro tool fabrication, proprietary micro-molding services, cutting-edge metrology, assembly, and automation, and this facilitates the streamlining of customer’s medical product development process, and the attainment of optimal outcomes in terms of timeliness, cost, and accuracy.”

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.