Page 86 - Plastics News August 2024
P. 86
PRODUCT NEWS
What there is to know about micromoulding of
thin wall cannulas
igh-volume production of small and thin- bour-intensive and time-consuming, making it
walled cannulas using traditional meth- difficult to meet the demands of high-volume
Hods like extrusion, tipping, and gluing to production efficiently.
a metal hub presents several limitations that hin- Micro injection moulding to the rescue
der efficiency and quality.
Modern manufacturing technologies like micro
Extrusion becomes challenging for extremely
small dimensions due to the risk of material in- injection moulding offer a more streamlined ap-
consistency, wall thickness irregularities, and po- proach. Micro injection moulding enables the
tential defects. Tipping, the process of adding creation of intricate and consistent cannula de-
a plastic or metal tip to the cannula, introduces signs with precise wall thickness control. It elimi-
variability in terms of bonding strength and tip nates the need for separate extrusion, tipping,
alignment, impacting the precision required for and gluing steps by producing the entire cannula
medical procedures. in a single mould, enhancing product reliability
and reducing the risk of defects.
Moreover, the gluing process poses reliability
concerns as adhesives might degrade over time, This approach not only improves the quality and
leading to potential detachment of the cannula reliability of the cannulas but also offers a more
from the hub and compromising patient safety. scalable and cost-effective solution for meeting
the demands of high-volume production in the
Furthermore, these traditional methods are la- medical industry.
88 PLASTICS NEWS August 2024
