Whether it’s for medical or electronics, extremely small parts are in demand. The miniaturization trend has been growing (so to speak) for decades. Micro molding technology has been following this trend on down. Some molded parts are smaller than the thickness of a human hair. By small, think amazingly tiny. “Our smallest molded form is over one thousand parts per plastic pellet. That’s extreme,” Brent Hahn, Isometric’s director of global sales, told
Design News. “We handle up to six-inch parts, but they still have micro-features that may be single microns in size.”
As for the markets for extremely small parts, there are many-, from fiberoptic connectors, strain reliefs, ferrules, and LEDs that go in ever-shrinking electronics- to parts that go inside the human body, such as ear tubes, heart valves, intraocular surgical instruments, and disposables. “Our main customer base has been medical and drug delivery device OEMs. Our value is in solving miniaturized device problems for fitting into tiny spaces such as surgical endoscopes, insulin pumps, wearable devices, transdermal needle arrays to name a few,” Donna Bibber, VP of business development at Isometric, told