Venture Plastics’ Newton Falls plant operates with a total of 92,000 square feet across two facilities — 67,000 square feet are dedicated to molding and 25,000 square feet are devoted to warehousing and engineering. There is also a 60,000-square-foot molding operation in El Paso.

SPT implemented Nexa3D’s Freeform Injection Molding (FIM) technology to help customers shorten time-to-market on complex medical devices in demanding medical-grade materials and to expand on the range of materials that can be quickly and reliably used in prototyping and early device test manufacturing.

Based on input collected from the first two iterations, the design of the silicone part was approved and manufacturing of a metal tool was initiated with full confidence of part moldability and performance. The in-house tool shop built the final metal tooling in four weeks without iterations.

“Over the past several years, Venture Plastics has added equipment in El Paso and Newton Falls and expanded its Newton Falls facility with additional square footage to meet our growth goals,” commented Steve Trapp, President, Venture Plastics. “Our customers in the consumer, major appliance, energy storage, solar, rail, fuel delivery, medical, and agriculture markets will all benefit from the addition of these two Nissei machines.”

Medical device manufacturers are tasked with developing elaborate test protocols to ensure that the product in development is safe and meets essential requirements. If these tests are conducted late in the development process, the more onerous and risky they become. SPT Vilecon often works with silicone, a material that is extensively used in medical applications because of its chemical resistance, mechanical performance, and biocompatibility. However, silicone parts are notoriously difficult to prototype and test, since most grades need to be injection molded to achieve their full performance potential, said the company. FIM enabled SPT Vilecon to offer an alternative to a customer developing an intravenous (IV) silicone product — the use of 3D-printed tooling to perform early design and material verification at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods.

The company provides customers with services such as engineering, design and project management support, injection/structural foam molding, over molding, insert molding, gas-assist molding, decoration, plating, assembly, and welding. Venture Plastics has expertise processing a variety of engineered materials with UL traceability.

Design input collected from the first tests was integrated in a second iteration that took only a couple of hours to complete. By contrast, conventional metal tooling would have taken more than six weeks to design and procure, and the adjustments needed for the second iteration would have taken an in-house tool-shop a week to complete.

The 3D-printed molds for the first and second iterations cost less than €2,000 combined. And the technology enabled a two-day design cycle, which is more than 90% faster than conventional metal tooling.

The patented FIM process uses high-speed Nexa3D printers and xMOLD resin to print injection molding tools that are compatible with thousands of off-the-shelf injection molding materials, including reinforced high-performance feedstocks. The process reduces design, iteration, and validation cycles using end-product materials to a matter of hours rather than weeks.

Certified to ISO 13485, Denmark-based SPT Vilecon describes itself as a fully integrated provider of development and manufacturing services to the medical device industry. It offers in-house tool making and injection molding along with other manufacturing services to companies in northern Europe.

Injection-molded silicone parts were produced within two days, allowing early verification of key design and performance aspects.

SPT Vilecon said it has begun expanding the range of injection mold prototyping with silicone, metal, and ceramic materials to provide medical device manufacturers with an even wider selection of product development and verification services.

A supplier of development and manufacturing services to medical device OEMs used Freeform Injection Molding from Nexa3D to accelerate time-to-market and slash prototyping costs for a complex silicone-based IV device. SPT Vilecon explained the process in a recent press release.

Freeform Injection Molding technology from Nexa3D compresses design, iteration, and validation cycle times into a matter of hours rather than weeks.

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.

Venture Plastics now has a total of 16 machines at its El Paso plant and 19 presses at its Newton Falls facility in capacities ranging from 55 to 1,440 tons.

Venture Plastics now has a total of 16 machines in El Paso and 19 presses in Newton Falls in capacities ranging from 55 to 1,440 tons.

Thermoplastics injection molder Venture Plastics Inc. reports that it has purchased two new Nissei injection molding presses to meet growing customer demand. The full-service, ISO/IATF 16949–certified molder operates processing facilities in Newton Falls, OH, and El Paso, TX.

A 123-ton Nissei press with a Yushin robot will be shipped to the company’s El Paso facility in March 2021. The other machine — a 197-ton press with robotic automation — was delivered to the Newton Falls plant this month. Both presses will be equipped with RJG eDARTS for process control.

Robust and valid prototyping and verification are key to minimizing cost, time, and risk factors in developing medical devices, said SPI Vilecon. FIM is a new toolbox for medical device companies seeking to accelerate their innovation and obtain early verification of part performance and moldability, added the company.

Until she retired in September 2021, Clare Goldsberry reported on the plastics industry for more than 30 years. In addition to the 10,000+ articles she has written, by her own estimation, she is the author of several books, including The Business of Injection Molding: How to succeed as a custom molder and Purchasing Injection Molds: A buyers guide. Goldsberry is a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association. She reflected on her long career in "Time to Say Good-Bye."