Injection Molding Is Ideally Suited for Medical Components: Here’s Why

In the medical components and device industries there’s simply no room for error. Because injection molding is a precision process it’s ideally suited to creating high quality and consistent parts in large volumes..

Additionally, when considering silicone for medical devices and components – injection molding offers a closed material delivery system to prevent contamination and provides clean product. Alternatively, oversees silicone production typically relies on compression molding and is not as clean or controlled.

Producing medical components with injection molding on a large scale can, in some cases, allow you to create disposable items that do not need to be sterilized and reused – reducing risk. Where parts can’t and shouldn’t be disposable, silicone injection molding offers a sterile way of producing durable components. During production, antimicrobial agents can also be mixed into the liquid resin resulting in components that have microbe resistant surfaces.

Silicone injection molded products are limited only by your imagination, and the designs you approach a manufacturer with, meaning they can often look good while also being functional. Using injection molding manufacturers are able to create highly complex geometric shapes and uniquely colored products.  When it comes to functionality, the use of injection molding alongside the correct pigments can also allow for your medical components to be color-coded for ease of use by patients or medical practitioners. Unlike with other materials, because the color of the device or component can be embedded within the product, the color of injection molded medical products need never fade.

In addition to color, injection molded plastics and silicones are capable of being used in a range of scenarios and locations – the same cannot necessarily be said of other materials used in other processes. Injection molded parts can be tailored to the environments they are likely to encounter – whether that’s regular use inside MRI machines or constant daily use by patients during which they might be dropped – making them incredibly versatile when you find a manufacturer able to advise on the correct resin mix.

Find the right medical component injection molder and you’ll be offered the highest level of support and flexibility from your manufacturer – especially important if this is a new product or you wish to change the material or design of an existing product. Injection molding is highly precise and requires such an in-depth knowledge of chemical interactions and physical properties that it’s likely a quality injection molder will be able to consult and advise on your CAD files before the manufacturing begins. By refining your designs and working with you to conform to the exact requirements of your product, injection molding can be an incredibly flexible and efficient process made to suit your needs that can ultimately save you time and money.

Injection molding can also produce lightweight parts that have hinges, joints, and handles in a single step – something that would otherwise require costly multi-step assembly.

It’s not uncommon for medical devices to require overmolding to provide grip, create seals or add a level of functionality and it is essential that these extra parts are just as high-quality. Sub-assembly of more complex medical devices can be troublesome when it comes to working with lots of different vendors – at Extreme Molding we work to make sure the items we source to help with assembly are fully traceable and located within the US.   Since, we at Extreme Molding mold both plastics and silicones in house, we strive to make sure your medical device or components are manufactured entirely in-house to avoid the need for multiple manufacturers. Beyond freeing up your time, this gives you the peace of mind that the parts that you manufacture with us using injection molding are of the highest quality every step of the way.

At Extreme Molding we are:

• ISO ready and in the process of becoming ISO 9001:2015 certified;
• QRS- and FDA-compliant, including process validations for medical components
• Highly experienced in the medical components field, our team having been manufacturing in this sector for over 50 years

No one gives you full manufacturing traceability and quality injection molded medical devices and components like we do. If you’re ready to make the move to a quality medical device and component manufacturer that offers you the highest quality possible contact us for a free consultation.