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Injection moulds with the latest process engineering
Filigree injection moulded parts for maximum fine mechanical performance Part weights from 0.002 to 150 grams
Powder injection moulding
Green part
Brown part
Sintered part
Success stories – from order to serial production readiness
Precision mechanics: Thin-walled precision parts in watch plates
The best success stories are created in close coordination with the customers. In our first story, we dedicate ourselves to a task that springs directly from our roots: a clock mechanism. The tricky task:
For his clock mechanism, our customer needed a plastic plate as a bearing bridge that would remain stable in temperature fluctuations between -10°C and +40°C. The wall thicknesses were thinner than 0.5 mm, the smallest hole needed to have a diameter of 0.135 mm (tolerance ± 0.005 mm). The position tolerance for the finished movement was ± 0.01 mm.
The cooperative path to the thin-walled precision part in watch plates
To meet the requirements for material properties, our developers chose liquid crystalline polymer (LCP). The plastic withstands high thermal stress and improves its mechanical properties as the wall thickness decreases. In addition, LCP can be reused with the addition of up to 50% recycled material. Based on the customer’s component drawing, we designed the injection moulds using CAD software and analysis tools and adjusted it step by step to the requirements in dialogue with our customer.
In order to produce the bearing bridges in series using standard injection moulding processes, some adjustments had to be made to the machine settings and the mould, which we had to equip with an internal pressure transducer in a very confined space, for example.
Injection moulds with added value
For reliable production, we have developed an optimised process routine that enables a consistently high quality of the bearing bridges with a very good service life. Together with recyclability, the properties of the LCP ensure enormously high cost efficiency. Our customer is delighted – and so are we.
Medical technology: Dental technology pin
A Swiss customer from the medical technology sector required a prototype tool for a pin for filling in root canal treatments – a so-called dental pin – made of the biocompatible plastic gutta-percha. The challenges were on several levels: on the one hand, the technically demanding task itself, and on the other hand, doing 100% justice to it. This is because previous solutions proposed by some of the competitors were not able to adequately implement the customer’s ideas. Now it was our turn. The challenge for the prototype tool:
Development of a 28-cavity injection mould for a component with a complex degree of filling due to conical feed (0.1 mm at the tip with 0.02 mm radii). The surface structure of the cavities also had to allow a long flow path on a sticky moulding compound.
Our path to the technically sophisticated injection mould
The realisation of the injection mould required cooling close to the contour as well as repeated adjustments of the machine settings and tools. With iterative coordination and practical injection tests on site, we worked out a suitable solution together with the customer:
For the injection mould, we changed the mould design and integrated a vent and vacuum system into the mould to enable better mould filling of the parts. In addition, instead of variothermal temperature control, cooling close to the contour was used.
Reaching the goal together
After careful development, we were able to supply the customer with exactly the injection mould that several competitors had previously failed to deliver. The production of the parts is running reliably and we are looking forward to further exciting projects with our new customer from the medical technology sector.
Electrical engineering: Component with insert part
We were asked to produce an electronic component with an insert for an Austrian customer. The greatest difficulty here was the demanding part geometry with thin walls and at the same time high tightness of the material. Our challenge:
Design of an injection mould for electronic components with complex inserts. It was a balancing act that had to be mastered: If the injection pressure was too high, the mould would break, whereas if the injection pressure was too low, the parts would not be filled optimally or completely due to the low viscosity of the material.
Our path to a complex mould for electronic components
During the first sampling, the parts were incomplete – a higher pressure was required. In addition, the cycle times of the injection process did not match the time required for placing the inserts. The solution:
In detailed precision work, we adapted the tool design so that no tool breakage could occur despite thin walls and higher pressure. The injection parameters were optimised and the cycle times adjusted.
Difficult, but not impossible
Our designers were happy to have found the optimum balance for a robust injection mould through consistent determination, and our customer is highly satisfied that we were able to solve this difficult task for them.
