'MICROMOLDING- The Growth Market for Injection Molders in the Near Future'

摘要

In our world of manufacturing today, there is a need for smaller and smaller components that fit into tiny circuitry, control the smallest droplet, or channel the smaller fiber optic light source. New advances in microfluidics, biomedical applications, micro sensors, microscopic implantables, and ultimately nanotechnology are growth and research initiatives that are requiring us to rethink how we manufacture using conventional methodology. Micromolding is an unconventional manufacturing method that can serve all of these initiatives. Growth and research, however, does not come without its challenges. This paper explores these challenges from a tooling perspective as total market potential for micromolded components. Several case studies and return on investment analysis are included that compare conventional molding methodology to a micromolding approach.