With the evolution of plastics, including reusable and single-use devices for patients and medical professionals, the need for injection molding in medical product design has increased dramatically. Fast, efficient and offering molds that last for hundreds of thousands of cycles, these offer a very safe alternative to traditional materials.
Lower in cost than either glass, stainless steel or other medical grade alloys, plastic offers flexibility, versatility and durable option for the development of both simple as well as complex shapes in medical devices and products. Additionally, since they are disposable, they are also considered safer and less risky than reusable medical products that have to be sterilized and reused.
The Importance of Design
Working with a medical product design company with experience in injection molding will be a critical aspect of design, prototype development and then moving into production.
Choices in wall thicknesses, design characteristics as well as choosing the correct plastics will always be critical in the initial phases. Often considerable time and money are wasted in the design stage when the team doesn’t work with experts in the plastic mold industry.
Additionally, and this is perhaps the most critical aspect of design with medical devices and equipment, there are very strict regulations and requirements that are dependent on the end user for the equipment or product. In working with an experienced company familiar with medical product design as well as regulations and requirements, there is the added benefit of tapping into this pool of expertise.
In all aspects of medical equipment production issues such as traceability of materials as well as validation of manufacturing processes will also need to be addressed. This is yet another example of how choosing an injection molding company with experience and expertise specific to the medical device manufacturing process can be an asset.
