Medical Device Custom Molding and Manufacturing

April 1st, 2021

At Southwest Plastics, we specialize in molding custom plastic thermoset and thermoplastic components. We offer competitive pricing, flexibility, efficient response times and the assistance of inventory balancing.  We have an extremely knowledgeable staff which can assist in tooling design as well as extensive materials experience which can aid in selecting the right material grade for the right application.   

The Product

When we were approached by a company in Pasadena to make an orthotic boot device, we were extremely flexible and creative in the services we were able to provide them.  We produced this product in four sizes – large, medium, small and child-sized, all four of which in a variety of colors. 

Inventory

Typically, it can take 4-6 weeks to schedule a work order, such as the boot, to run though our facility and deliver to the customer.  Lead time is also directly impacted by the availability of raw materials, so it is entirely possible for the 4-6 weeks to be even longer in which case Southwest Plastics has no control over.  To circumvent this potential occurrence with the boot, Southwest kept a modest amount of raw materials on hand as to “mold on demand” upon request from the customer.  We even took it one step further and overran the most popular, size / color combinations and housed in our facility as inventory as to reduce lead times to near “same day” in some circumstances.  This type of additional service allowed our customer to maintain the fastest lead times to satisfy their customers.   

 

Engineering and Molding

In the case of this orthotic boot product, the tooling was built by an uninterested 3rd party company, however, Southwest Plastics was easily able to adapt the tools into our molding process.  Southwest has the ability to design and build custom tooling as well as take existing tooling and adapt it to our process. 

Depending on the type of work we do there may or may not be room for changes in the molding process. For instance, the work we do with aerospace parts does not allow for any latitude of change. By the time we have received a blueprint for a product, it has already undergone a lengthy approval process and the dimensions, features, and materials must all stay the same. On the other end of the spectrum, we might get an idea for a part from a company that doesn’t yet have the engineering down. In this case, Southwest Plastics can suggest materials and certain design elements to improve before the mold is even made.

Materials

In order to select the right material, it’s important to know as much as we can about the application of the part. This way we can make suggestions about what type of plastic would be the best, based on what properties it needs to have. There are hundreds of different types of plastics, and then the plastic can be modified with different variations such as colorant. There are all kinds of combinations and permutations on how plastic can be engineered to our customer’s needs. In the above-mentioned case of the orthotic boot, that company knew they wanted a glass-reinforced nylon material, which at Southwest Plastics we were all set to do. To ensure we had the proper color we did a color match and made sure it met their satisfaction.

When it comes to molding manufacturing, consistency in the product every time is crucial. Once we have a mold, materials, and process set, we develop an operations guide that is optimized and followed exactly. Precision is important regardless of industry; this product was made for the medical health care sector, but exactness is critical across fields, from aerospace to motorcycles. Southwest Plastics is prepared to meet your company’s molding needs. To find out more about how we can best work with you, contact us here now.