Accumold Brings Medical Micro Molding to MD&M South

Accumold produces miniature products for the medical device industry. The company uses an array of complex-to-process thermoplastics, and tighter and tighter tolerances to manufacture these tiny parts. The process involves specialized materials and equipment.

Accumold will showcase its experience and expertise in medical micro molding at IMESouth, June 6 – 8 at Charlotte, N.C. IME South features six different co-located shows: Design & Manufacturing South, ATX South, MD&M South, SouthPack, Plastic South, and Powder/Bulk Solids South. Accumold will offer examples of the micro intricate parts it has developed for medical device OEMs over its 40-year history. Attendees will be able to see examples of its thin-walled cannulas that Accumold can micro injection mold at volume.

New Products Featured at the Charlotte Show

“We are featuring a couple of new innovations,” Paul Runyan, VP of sales and marketing at Accumold, told Design News. “For one, we will feature molded cannula. We found a real need to develop this product as many drug-delivery and wearable diabetes pump OEMs were using an extruded cannula which is a very expensive process and doesn’t lend itself to high volume production.”

Another product Accumold will feature at MD&M South will be the LSR optical lens. “We have developed the process to manufacture very small LSR optics for the consumer market and medical channel,” said Runyan.

The Difficulties of Medical Molding in the Medical

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 with advanced design and manufacturing. “Accumold 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,” said Runyan. “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.”

Runyan noted that Accumold offers a wide range of micro molding services. “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.”

Development Through Partnerships

Accumold has partnered with numerous 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,” said Runyan. “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.” Runyan noted that Accumold has the capacity and infrastructure to ramp up to full mass volume manufacture. “Accumold is ISO 13485 accredited, the stringent and internationally recognized quality management system for medical devices.”

Runyan explained the particular products that will be featured at MD&M South. “We will be able to discuss our ground-breaking innovation in the field of thin wall cannula manufacture at MD&M South,” said Runyan. “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.”

The development of this wall cannula required specialized materials and equipment. “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,” said 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.”