Recently, manufacturing engineers from a medical device company that create exterior plastic components asked TTH to help them move a project from prototype to injection mold production. The source of their manufacturing problem was that the part’s original design appearance could not be altered, which would have made it very costly and difficult to injection mold. Several undercuts included in the design would have prevented opening and shutting an injection mold and would have required hand-pull slides in order to release the part properly. As a result, they would have been forced to produce the part using more expensive tooling and molding processes.
After the design review, TTH worked with the client’s engineering team to help modify the part design, which included separating the design into different components. By producing the parts separately, each component could be easily injection molded, allowing for lower tooling costs and shorter cycle times while still keeping the same design appearance. Once the components were assembled and painted, the modified part’s design looked exactly like the original one.
By working with our client upfront, we were able to understand their concerns and offer our suggestions for the best manufacturing approach in order to satisfy their design concerns and our manufacturing concerns. This client-supplier relationship allowed us to save each other a lot of time and money while still producing the production part to print.
TTH’s engineering staff has both the tools and the experience to help save time and money on your next production project. Whether it’s a new design or a modification of an existing one, we will work with you to find the most cost-effective way to produce the best quality part.
.jpg)
.png)
