Congratulations! You’ve spent months designing the next medical device that’s going to change the world (or more realistically a very specific community in need of a very specific type of medical attention) and now you’re ready to test your design. What now, do you spend a ton of money on hard tooling for a device that might sell 80 units annually? Do you compromise your design to fit the model of a company promising the lowest cost injection molding tooling? Or do you utilize the best option for low-volume production? The silicone tooling and cast urethane process is the perfect fit for these types of jobs. For a fraction of the tool cost (generally thousands of dollars vs. tens of thousands of dollars), you can still achieve a production quality part that still has desired mechanical properties, the repeatability of other traditional molding processes, and a near impossible to beat lead time. Silicone tools do have a smaller yield, IMPM guarantees 100 shots from its silicone tools, which makes it perfect for these small production runs. Sure, not every medical device is going to have such small production quantities, but this process still allows you to produce the highest quality prototype (form, fit, function) without breaking the bank. Urethanes are produced to mimic almost all production materials, including materials that are:
• FDA Compliant
• Flame Retardant
• High Heat Resistant
• High Impact Resistant
• And Much More
