Together we will make the impossible. In 1978, Timothy Katen and David Mead started Micro Mold, a high precision, custom, mold-building company. After ten years of successfully producing the most challenging projects, they realized that their customers needed a trusted injection molding company and opened Plastikos in 1989. Katen and Mead have served their customers by pushing the engineering and technical limits of the plastics industry since the earliest days of Micro Mold. Plastikos is a premier custom injection molder of highly engineered, complex, close tolerance plastic components. We are proud of our ability to manufacture the most intricate parts, routinely holding tolerances of +/.0005 inches in plastic. Our engineers regularly recommend solutions to customers that will increase product performance, reliability and quality. Our first-class facility (45,000 square feet) demonstrates Katen and Mead s commitment to our customers. Plastikos runs state-of-the-art equipment, continually investing in new presses and auxiliary equipment to optimize our manufacturing processes. Stringent cleanliness standards are maintained in all departments of our facility. Our relentless drive to exceed our customers expectations has enabled us to solve the most difficult problems and make the impossible, possible. USTOM INJECTION MOLDING
Together we will make the impossible. Micro Mold has custom built complex, precision molds since 1978. We partner with our customers in the medical, electronics, consumer products, telecommunications, defense, and automotive industries to create the highest quality plastic products. We seek to form lasting partnerships that span decades with all of our customers. Micro Mold consists of 15,700 square feet of firstclass office, manufacturing, and warehouse space. We continually invest in our facility, employees and equipment so that we may provide the highest level of service in a clean and comfortable environment. Our reputation to successfully manufacture the most demanding, intricate molds is a result of Timothy Katen s and David Mead s passion, planning, and foresight. Innovative thinking, finely engineered problem solving, precision, design integrity, and teamwork are the hallmark practices of Micro Mold. ustom tooling solutions
Plastikos Capabilities Our highly skilled employees operate the most up-to-date injection molding presses with real-time production monitoring systems and advanced quality inspection equipment. Plastikos partners with our customers to turn around their orders with precision and speed. Our manufacturing system is designed to routinely fulfill orders in one to three days so that we can support our customers lean inventory initiatives. We accomplish this service through the use of 27 injection molding machines ranging in size from 25 to 130 tons. In addition, we use a closed-loop material handling approach combined with robotics equipment and in-line visual inspection to produce the finest product. Process optimization and monitoring software is used by our manufacturing team for daily production, research, training purposes, and project development. We work with the following specialty and engineering resins: Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) Polycarbonate (PC) Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) Polystyrene (PS) Polyetherimide (PEI) Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Nylon (PA), among others Our manufacturing and quality engineers work closely with resin suppliers to conduct proprietary research for optimal material selection on each project. [ PRECISION ] INJECTION MOLDING
Plastikos Capabilities To combat the inherent difficulties of molding tighttolerance plastic components, Plastikos uses the most advanced inspection methods available. Our highly trained quality personnel use: 3-D laser scanning technology to reduce inspection time and increase accuracy master scans of known good parts to allow for rapid verification of correct part configuration optical gauging products and compression force equipment to verify that parts meet our customers engineering specifications Over half of Plastikos employees are trained under and report directly to the Quality Manager, therefore providing the highest level of quality and service to our customers. Plastikos is a pioneer in adopting the Global Standards for Plastics Certification (GSPC) training program. GSPC is the only structured certification program specifically designed for the plastics industry. This international standard is designed to ensure that employees possess an integrated knowledge of production, safety, quality and other aspects of our business. [QUALITY CONTROL ]Plastikos is ISO 9001:2000 certified Plastikos in the real world. This component, produced from Nylon 6/6, measures only 0.181 inches long and contains a through-hole dimension of 0.0265 +/- 0.0003 inches. Plastikos s attention to detail in the areas of tooling, processing, engineering and quality control is critical to the precise production of a part of this size and tolerance.
Plastikos Resources The Plastikos on-site tooling department consists of a combination of bridgeports, surface grinders, lathes and EDMs. Our laser welding and laser engraving equipment permits us to make rapid repairs and add custom graphics to mold components. In addition to our in-house tooling capabilities, the close proximity between Micro Mold and Plastikos greatly expands our ability to provide exceptional service and reduced delivery times. Our skilled toolmakers work closely with the production scheduling department and process technicians to meet the changing needs of our customers using a proprietary quick changeover process. We pride ourselves on the ability to minimize capital expenditures for our trusted partners and make the most of flexible tooling options. [ ON-SITE ] TOOLROOM Plastikos in the real world. This inherited tool that produced a.0158 x.0161 +/-.0001 inch circuit was susceptible to frequent damage to its 100 intricate core pins. Plastikos engineers and our inhouse tooling department investigated the issue and identified possible root causes. Together, they redesigned and replaced the cores with the same circuit size and realized a tenfold reduction in tool damage and wear.
Plastikos Resources A cross-functional team of specialists from engineering, tool design, injection mold processing, and quality control oversees each project as it is launched. Our degreed engineering professionals provide outstanding service for new product development, part sampling and engineering changes in addition to ongoing quality once a project is in production. The engineering staff at Plastikos has a solid foundation in tooling. They are always looking for ways to maximize part improvements through redesign. Our engineers do not wait for the customer to drive the process; they routinely recommend solutions that will increase product performance, reliability and profitability. Our engineers continually push to strengthen our manufacturing capabilities and increase our focus on continuous improvement with respect to process optimization. Plastikos plays an active role in shaping the future of the plastics industry through practical internships offered to Plastics Engineering Technology students at Penn State-Erie. We are active members of their Plastics Alumni Advisory Board where our Manufacturing Manager provides realworld knowledge to up-and-coming engineers. In addition to these strong ties with Penn State, Plastikos also engages in cutting-edge research and development partnerships with faculty and students. Our hands-on involvement with Penn State has resulted in many direct benefits to our customers. [ ] ENGINEERING
Micro Mold Capabilities At Micro Mold every mold begins with a designer translating a physical or CAE part into a set of blueprints that meet all dimensional, aesthetic, and inspection requirements. Our mold designers are knowledgeable in the unique properties of injection molding. Whether the application is single or multicavity, hot or cold runner, Micro Mold is able to meet your needs from conception to delivery. Each mold is custom designed and built in-house at Micro Mold. Our mold designers and engineers can create an initial blueprint and easily react to any changes that may occur on the part design, material selection or cavitation by utilizing multiple seats of computer aided design (CAD) software. In addition to our design services, Micro Mold is capable of fabrication, prototyping, sampling and first article inspection. Micro Mold builds molds large and small. Over the years, we ve built molds that produce parts from 0.120" x 0.200" x 0.200" within a 7.875" x 7.875" mold frame up to a 30" x 30" mold with a hot runner system. Further, we ve produced production tools with up to 96 cavities. [Mold Design and Fabrication ] Micro Mold in the real world. This medical device requires a watertight seal between mating components to safely regulate fluid flow. To meet that specification without using an o-ring, Micro Mold built this tool to a tolerance of +/- 0.0001 inches in plastic on the finished part surface. This medical partnership has grown to include eight variations of the part.
Micro Mold Capabilities A cross-functional team of experts takes over once the mold blueprints are finalized. The team, led by a designated project manager, includes one of the co-owners, the general manager and expert representatives from the grinding, EDM and finishing departments. Micro Mold excels at building tools with steel tolerances in the millionths (+/- 0.00005 inches). The complexity of our molds is often compounded by the tool s flexibility since many of the projects that we receive contain multiple parts of similar geometry and size. Rather than constructing numerous individual molds, we create one mold that can easily be changed over to produce several different parts. Unlike family molds, which are undesirable from a processing and quality control standpoint, our technique of interchangeable insert molding reduces design and construction fees and minimizes raw material costs. These types of flexible molds are extremely rare in the plastics industry since they demand uncommon foresight and detailed planning. [QUALITY CONTROL ] Micro Mold in the real world. This project called for an extremely intricate circuit design coupled with thin wall sections. That eliminated the option to use separate ejector pins or blades from the 1,362 core pins, each of which has a tolerance of +/-.0005 inches. Micro Mold engineered a way to burn the circuit design onto the ejector blades. This tool design vastly exceeded our customer s expectations.
Micro Mold Resources Micro Mold is able to meet our customer s most challenging demands through the combined use of state-of-the-art equipment and traditional tool-making knowledge. Our team of veteran designers and tool makers with over 400 years of collective experience constantly strives to refine and perfect their skills. They bring their shared experience and expertise to the production of high-precision tools through the use of: 20 surface grinders 3 conventional EDM centers 2 CNC EDM centers 2 wire EDM centers 3 Mori Seiki CNC milling centers Our latest Mori Seiki milling center is capable of spindle speeds in excess of 20,000 RPMs. This makes it ideal for hard milling and minimizes total fabrication cost and time. Tool Making EQUIPMENT
Minimizing Warpage and Enhancing Dimensional Stability It is inherently difficult to achieve a part design that calls for a thick perimeter that surrounds a thin wall. When combined with 2,296 individual circuits (Figure 1), it is nearly impossible to make. Plastikos and Micro Mold, however, were determined to bring this product to market for our customer. Figure 1: Part configuration and circuit detail The extremely intricate circuit design coupled with thin wall sections had to be addressed in order for the project to be successful. This challenge demanded a unique style of tool making, along with the confidence and expertise of veteran toolmakers. Typically, the use of ejector blades that also serve as core pins is avoided because it requires the utmost in mold-building skill and precision. Micro Mold, however, was convinced that their toolmakers could EDM the circuit design onto the ejector blades. Once the tool was perfected, Plastikos had to ensure that a quality part could be produced. Initially, an unacceptable degree of warpage and dimensional instability plagued the part (Figure 2a). However, Plastikos worked hand-in-hand with our customer to optimize the part design and the gate configuration and to suggest an alternative material. This collaborative approach succeeded. The product was successfully brought to market (Figure 2b). Our customer s response: I just want to express my sincere thanks and also commend your entire team for pulling the R&D project together and executing. I cannot even begin to relate to you how impressive both Micro Mold and Plastikos are to me. Jerry, Manufacturing Engineering Manager micro Mold & plastikos in the real world Figure 2a: Unacceptable warpage and dimensional instability plagued the original material and gate location. Figure 2b: Revised material selection and gate location produced an acceptable part.
Time is Money The end product is vulnerable to periodic cracking and failure during the final application assembly in Japan. We need a modification to be made to the tool to correct this issue, and need sample parts in-hand tomorrow. The team at Plastikos recognized the severity of this situation and immediately began to investigate the problem. The root cause of the failure was due to a crack at the end-of-fill that resulted from a thin wall (.015 inches) condition. Although the cracking did not arise until the assembly operation, Plastikos was confident that it could be mitigated at the part level. Plastikos engineers determined that the failure was not a result of processing conditions or gate location. Therefore, the part geometry needed to be strategically modified without affecting any assembly requirements further down the supply chain (Figure 1). Figure 1: Part configuration with the highlighted failure area The first step was to address the sharp corners that formed the inside wall (Figure 2a). These sharp corners were replaced by a radius. This step improved material flow, as well as strengthened the section of the part that failed during final assembly. Moreover, the change yielded a slightly thicker wall which minimized any material hesitation and improved the structural properties of the part (Figure 2b). Within twenty-four hours of the initial call, Plastikos modified the tooling, manufactured and inspected the part and shipped samples to our customer. micro Mold & plastikos in the real world Figure 2a: Original part design with the thin wall and sharp corners Figure 2b: Modified part design with increased wall thickness and rounded corners.
Exceeding Expectations The automotive industry demands that its suppliers make a competitively priced part built to very tight tolerance specifications and delivered yesterday. Micro Mold received an order for a 16-Way Circuit Male Connector (Figure 1a). Our customer asked for two 4-cavity tools rather than a single 8-cavity tool because they believed it would be impossible to attain the tolerances that the finished assembly dictated due to the intricate EDM work on the front and rear cores (Figure 1b). We were confident that a single 8-cavity tool could be built that would meet the design specifications of +/-.0001 inches on the finished product. Initially hesitant, our customer, who was familiar with Micro Mold s history of exceeding their expectations, decided to follow our recommendation. In less than fourteen weeks, Micro Mold successfully delivered a single 8-cavity tool that met the customer s requirements and saved them tens of thousands of dollars. Once the tool was constructed, Plastikos provided the first article inspection and initial product sampling. Together, we amazed our customer when the tool s first sample run delivered eight acceptable parts. In addition to delivering eight acceptable parts, each cavity was designed and built to be fully interchangeable with one another. Due to the success of this project, multiple configurations of the tool have been designed, built and sampled at Micro Mold and Plastikos. Going beyond our customer s expectations is the driving force behind our success at Micro Mold and Plastikos. micro Mold & plastikos in the real world Figure 1b: Circuit Detail Figure 1a: 16-Way Circuit Male Connector