Micromolding requires specialized micro-tooling. As the demand increases for smaller parts, smaller features on those parts and once-unimaginable tighter tolerances, the expertise required to configure and use micro-tools increases.
The micromolding world, especially that of medical micromolding, demands tolerances measured in microns. These unforgiving tolerances separate the complex world of micromolding from the macromolding world.
For example, one tool we rely on for metrology is an interferometer. We’ve been called upon to test a micromolded mold cavity and determined the flatness of the bottom of an internal blind hole to be less than 0.27 um [0.0000108â€]. To get an idea of scale we’re working with, the average human hair measures about .004†in diameter.
Metrology presents a unique challenge for the medical micromolding industry – measuring things that can barely be seen!