
Thin-Wall Injection Molding Breakthrough for rPET - engel plastic injection mold
Author:gly Date: 2024-09-30
Accumold is proud to be working at the cutting-edge of medical innovation, and invites all visitors at MD&M South to come to booth 1911, look at the parts the company has made, and discuss specific applications and how Accumold can help realise product development goals.
Additive manufacturing parts also require certifications by different agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), European Space Agency (ESA), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), The Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), etc. These agencies check the factors impacting product quality and process control. These agencies look for data regarding the material strength properties, testing, performance, process control, and lot traceability.
Based on surveys of aerospace business managers, the general business outlook for aerospace next year ranges from "somewhat to very positive." Agility is needed to stave off potential market instability, and technological growth has been at the forefront of the trends expected to lead the industry in the coming years. In addition to the need for adding more talent to the workforce, the aerospace industry trends include many cutting-edge programs that are defined below:
These technologies have taken off due to the fragility of the global supply chain and the ability of additive manufacturing technologies. These issues have been critical when companies require more agile ways of developing, sourcing, and building products.
This article discusses Aerospace Manufacturing Methods for Prototyping and Production, the pre-production and prototyping process, methods, production, materials, and quality.
When considering the use of expensive materials in aerospace applications, additive manufacturing has a significant advantage over subtractive manufacturing technologies, where a large portion of the material machined is waste. The aerospace industry highly values component weight reduction. This translates to either less fuel or added range for the craft. Additive manufacturing can take several components and develop a single item while reducing weight and maintaining overall strength and performance.
Additive manufacturing technologies have been instrumental in these industry trends and continue their rapid growth with newly engineered materials. The three key technologies are 3D printing, composite manufacturing, and other additive manufacturing (AM) technologies.
Paul Runyan, VP Sales & Marketing says, “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. 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, LCP, and most engineering thermoplastics. The company is unique in that it is truly vertically integrated, and as such it is able to operate as a one-stop partner in the development and manufacture of medical devices and components. 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.”
From 2010 to 2020, the additive manufacturing market doubled, projected to gain over 20% annually from 2022 to 2028. The industry is expected to continue to develop new composite materials and to integrate and develop advanced manufacturing technologies. The aerospace industry continues to pursue both dimensionally larger and smaller products, the attainment of volume production, and the manufacture of complex products that were once an assembly of many parts.
AS9100 refers to aircraft maintenance and repairs. AS9100 B covers the storage and distribution of aircraft parts. AS -5553 is the Aerospace standard for the prevention and use of counterfeit parts. ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations)is specific to the Defense industry and regulates exports overseen by the United States Department of State (DOS). Manufacturing any items intended for defense-related or military end-use applications requires ITAR compliance. These certifications are needed to operate in the aerospace industry.
The aerospace industry has long been at the forefront of manufacturing innovation as companies have continually pursued cost-reduction methods, improved efficiencies, increased equipment utilization, enhanced profitability, and meeting and exceeding expectations. Advanced manufacturing practices have helped advance the ability to develop prototypes and production parts.
With on-demand production, inventories are reduced, as are storage and warehousing costs. The savings can add up quickly with expensive aerospace components. On-demand production is ideal for additive technologies, which often require part and weight reduction and rapid prototyping.
Industry certifications help companies identify manufacturers that meet the rigorous quality standards of the aerospace industry. The most important certifications for aerospace and defense companies include AS9100D, C, and B, ISO-9001:2015, AS-5553, and ITAR. AS9100 D is the ISO-9001 version of quality requirements for aerospace and was developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the European Association of Aerospace Industries (EAAI). AS9100 D is the standard for aerospace quality.
Accumold brings a unique level of experience and expertise in medical micro molding to the upcoming MD&M South event on booth 1911, 4-6 June, Charlotte, NC, USA, and will be showcasing examples of the impossibly small and intricate parts that it has developed for medical device OEMs over its nearly 40-year history. In addition, attendees will also be able to see examples of Accumold’s thin-walled cannulas which the company can now micro injection mold at volume.
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. As such they must work alongside and partner with companies that are working at the cutting-edge of advanced design and manufacture.
In 2022, the aerospace industry has been boosted by increased aircraft and military orders and the additional demand for air travel. While fuel prices impact air travel and overall costs, The growth of new technologies is improving efficiencies as the industry pursues more fuel-efficient, lower-emission product designs.
Accumold has partnered with countless leading medical device manufacturers across the world, and with each the company operates strategically to ensure that the product development process is as efficient as possible. The company is not only the most experienced micro molder in the world, but also the largest. This affords Accumold’s customers with the reassurance of working with a robust and secure company that can provide efficiencies that lead to affordable pricing, and also one that has the capacity and infrastructure to ramp up to full mass volume manufacture. Accumold is also ISO 13485 accredited, the stringent and internationally recognized quality management system for medical devices.
These include; powder bed fusion, material and binder jetting, vat polymerization, direct energy deposition, and material extrusion.
Simulation software evaluates the material performance in the office. Materials that fail can be easily replaced with superior materials. The product design is quickly improved for lighter, more robust designs with outstanding performance characteristics.
These complex simulations can predict the product microstructure, part defects, and performance characteristics and guide the designer through process optimization. By avoiding this wasted time, scrap production is avoided, equipment may be best utilized, and the time to market is expedited.
Since 1985, Accumold has been pioneering the industrial application of micro molding for the medical device industry, which requires affordable, timely, and miniaturized parts and components, while at the same time catering for the inexorable demand for more complex geometries, the use of an array of complex-to-process thermoplastics, and tighter and tighter tolerances.
Additive technologies allow rapid prototyping to expedite the evaluation and testing of new products and materials. Products are quickly designed and evaluated for performance characteristics when combined with simulation software. This powerful software optimizes complex product designs in hours instead of weeks.
Aerospace Manufacturing Methods for Prototyping and Production, Pre-Production Prototyping, Production, Material, and Quality for Aerospace Products. Learn more now!
Runyan continues, “We are especially pleased to be able to discuss our ground-breaking innovation in the field of thin wall cannula manufacture at MD&M South. Micro molding cannulas at volume with an outside diameter of 0.035” (0.889 mm), an inside diameter is 0.027” (0.6858 mm), and a wall thickness of 0.004” (0.1016 mm) is routine at Accumold today. We have achieved this through attention to material choice, several critical DfM considerations, assembly considerations, maintaining a balanced aspect ratio to avoid challenges associated with flow dynamics, cooling, and structural integrity, and critically importantly through the use of our proprietary micro molding presses. 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.”
Since aerospace products are utilized in demanding and hazardous environments, the products must exceed the performance requirements of standard products. Finished products are evaluated for testing to ensure quality compliance and certification. This often includes coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), computed tomography, x-ray analysis, performance testing, and destructive testing methods. Lot traceability and comprehensive records are required in the event of product failure. Material certifications and product testing data are required for most products.
Recently, hybrid manufacturing models have been developed for aerospace and other industries. The hybrid model combines subtractive manufacturing equipment with additive equipment. This may include post-processing finishing, drilling extremely accurate holes, or other subtractive manufacturing processes.
The development of metal additive technologies has been a significant factor in the growth of the overall additive manufacturing sector. Additive processes such as directed metal laser sintering (DMLS), laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF), and directed energy deposition (DED) create parts with metals. The process manufacture parts from aluminum alloys, copper alloys, iron superalloys, nickel alloys, precious metals, refractory metals, titanium alloys, and more.
Digital technologies and cutting-edge manufacturing methods have provided an advantage for aerospace manufacturing. Aerospace companies' reliance on these technologies will increase as they continue to streamline product design and development. Sourcing should continue transitioning towards regional suppliers and distributed manufacturing services to save time and money and improve quality. The industry is also pursuing new propulsion technologies, including hydrogen and hybrid models. Renewable energy is also an ongoing trend in the aerospace industry.
Other materials for unique non-metal applications include boron, carbon fiber, and liquid silicone rubber. New materials include meta-materials, a new class of performance-specific materials with properties not found in naturally occurring materials. Aircraft exhausts may use metamaterials for exhaust systems to reduce noise.
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