Injection molding is an automated process that swiftly creates parts and components for medical equipment. Its advantages outweigh similar additive manufacturing tech, like plastic extrusion, they include:
- Compliance with Industry Standards
Components fabricated with medical injection molding are suitable for use in the medical industry because they comply with regulatory bodies. The FDA has set out a series of requirements regarding safety, sterility, cleanliness, and so on that, all equipment must meet.
Unlike metals and other materials, these plastics are easy to clean and sterilize, contaminant resistant, and less finishing requirements, making them ideal for the medical industry.
- Cost Effectiveness
Medical plastic molding is automated and cost-effective, especially for large-unit fabrications. Being a computer-controlled process requires less labor, ensuring a reduced fee on the cost per part. In addition, the injection molding process is faster and allows for mold reuse, further cutting down the production cost of medical equipment. - Compatibility With a Wide Range of Materials
The injection molding process affords the machinists various materials to choose from. The technique is suitable for plastics, fibers, composites, etc. However, since we are discussing plastic injection molding for the medical industry, we have already streamlined the material we need. Even at that, the process is compatible with virtually all medical-grade plastics. - High Precision and Accuracy
The medical industry requires exceptional dimensional accuracy for its devices because it works with blood and various internal structures of the human body. A simple deviation of a few millimeters of inches may be detrimental to the patient.
That said, injection molding is an excellent fit for achieving the utmost dimensional accuracy and tight tolerances for plastic fabrication. In addition, being an automated process requires less human influence, eliminating errors due to external interference.
- High Volume Reproducibility
Many medical products, like syringes, gloves, masks, etc., are for single use. Therefore, the need for a fabrication process with high volume repeatability is one of the primary benefits of injection molding.
With this technique, after creating the mold, you can fabricate thousands of exact parts before requiring any maintenance. A typical aluminum mold – the commonest for injection molding, can last thousands of production cycles.
- Little or No Material Wastage
Like any manufacturing technique, medical injection molding generates waste – as you fabricate your parts, the process releases some excess scraps. Unlike others, the advantage of this technique is that it allows you to regrind and melt these excesses and reuse them for other parts fabrications. Therefore, the resulting waste after fabricating your medical prototyping is almost insignificant.
