Page 67 - Plastics News May 2024

PRODUCT NEWS

product development process. just a feature, it's everything. prowess lies in producing piece after
precise piece, be it in the thousands,
As you embark on a micromoulding Engineers, armed with formidable
journey, keep the destination firmly in computational prowess, can conjure millions, or even billions, without
your mind's eye. Grasp the essence designs that look great on screens. missing a beat in accuracy.
of your design, navigate its possibili- Yet, these designs can sometimes fall Now, let's talk dimensions. At Accu-
ties and limitations — for in the micro into the gap between 'ingeniously con- mold, there's a sweet spot for size.
world, even the tiniest alteration can ceivable' and 'practically producible'. Anything up to half an inch is good.
unleash a wave of complications, po- The devil is in the details — zoom in The record-holder for the tiniest part
tentially capsizing your project. on the screen, tweak a fraction here, a we’ve ever moulded? 0.031” by 0.012”

Consider a design that features a thin micron there, and you might nudge a by 0.015” – a marvel in microns.
wall of 0.005 inches. Here, a minute design from 'optimised' to 'unmould- Design engineers, take note. Your thin
5% dimensional shift could decide if able.' walls be a minimum of 0.004 inches
the component materialises or van- Every micromoulding journey is dis- in thickness. Pay keen attention to the
ishes into thin air. In such fine detail, tinct — each design a unique interplay transitions from thick to thin and strive
material selection is not just a choice of geometry, form, and material selec- for consistency in wall thickness. Fea-
but a critical consideration that shapes tion, all influencing the manufactur- tures should ideally maintain a 6:1
the part's very existence. Design engi- ability of a part. aspect ratio, a figure that's intimately
neers, accustomed to juggling stack tied to the material chosen. When it
tolerances, must now recognise that Micromoulding design guides comes to gates, they can shrink down
at a micro scale, these variables funda- In manufacturing, when you're con- to a minute 0.1 mm, while ejector pins
mentally affect product viability. templating crafting a component that can be as slender as 0.25 mm. And
When it comes to micromoulding, De- tips the scales at less than a gram, let's not forget shrink rates and the nu-
sign for Manufacture (DfM) takes on a you've entered the precise world of ances of parting line mismatches — all
new importance and we should in fact micromoulding. But here's the catch, crucial to the final form of your part.
look at Design for Micro Manufactur- moulding something a hundred of Source – Medical Plastic News
ing (DfMM). Here, the conventional which could fit on a dime is one chal-
rules fade into obsolescence, and a lenge, replicating that feat with un-
new doctrine emerges for crafting of- wavering precision batch after batch
ten minute parts, where precision isn't is quite another. True micromoulding

Fluoropolymers: Waste Management and Sustainable Disposal?

hile certain PFASs are no- non-toxicity. For this reason, Indus- teed by alternative materials.
torious for their toxicity, tries extensively utilize these specialty
persistence, and environ- polymers, spanning from aerospace Role of Fluoropolymers in Various
mental mobility, Fluoro- and energy storage to telecommunica- Industries
polymers emerge because of their du- tions and healthcare In daily life, FPs play important roles
rability, safety, water insolubility, and In addition, fluoropolymers exhibit fire in electronics, energy systems, optics,
bio-inertia. These high-performance resistance, weather resistance, non- transportation, and beyond. Unlike
polymers are revolutionizing industries wetting, and nonstick properties. They their conventional PFAS counterparts,
with their attributes.
are considered irreplaceable in many FPs constitute a distinct family of poly-
Characterized by their backbone con- applications because their unique mers, characterized by their properties
taining carbon-fluorine bonds, FPs combination of specific properties, and safety profiles. The resilience and
possess properties such as thermal critical for ensuring optimal perfor- inertness of FPs make them irreplace-
and chemical stability, durability, and mance, cannot be achieved or guaran- able in critical applications where hy-

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