The
tiny quantities of material used in micro mouldings also raises another
conundrum for this new branch of injection moulding - how do you determine
the price? 'You can't use a quick rule-of-thumb anymore,' says Griffiths,
'such as doubling the weight of material in the component to get the
selling price.' For a start, tooling costs are disproportionately
high for the size of the mould being produced, simply owing to the
specialist expertise involved in making them. The same could be true
for micro mouldings themselves - they could prove to be very high
value-added products owing to the degree of specialist expertise involved
in their manufacture. In fact the polymer suppliers may also get in
on the act, according to Wigmore. Owing to the special nature of the
shapes being produced by micro moulding, 'materials suppliers could
charge on a consultancy basis for optimising the polymer and its use.'
He reckons. Clearly, they are not going to make much money from simply
supplying the plastics to the micro moulding industry.
With such high precision expertise being offered at a premium rate,
it is perhaps not surprising that the application areas for micromouldings
being explored by Sovrin are those in need of this technology for
future development. 'We are looking mainly at the existing industries
that we deal with in which cost isn't the main concern,' says Joiner,
'but in which they are looking to miniaturise, design for the future
and press forward.' Keyhole surgery devices, medical implants and
devices and electronics and fibre-optics components for telecommunications
are just some of the application areas being developed by Sovrin with
its customers.
Of course, for micro mouldings to break into new areas and become
established as a design option for new components, designers have
to be made aware of the capabilities of the new technology. This is
something of which Sovrin is aware. As Joiner says, 'Because design
engineers don't know about micromouldings, we have to measure the
potential in the market before setting about winning our share of
it,' The company is also aware of the problems that come with being
a pioneer in the field. 'There may be some drawbacks to specialisation
with the Microsystem 50,' says Wigmore, 'but these will rapidly diminish
as more companies see the market for micro mouldings continue to flourish.'
Micro moulding is still obviously very much in its infancy as a new
branch of injection moulding. It will take a while for designers,
manufacturers and users to cotton on to the benefits and capabilities
of the technology. It will also take a while for new tooling methods
to be developed, which could both bring down the costs involved and
also expand the range of possible component shapes and sizes. Meanwhile,
Sovrin is blazing the trail - 'We're cutting our teeth on the new
technology on exercises we've got confidence in,' says Wigmore. Beyond
that, who knows what intricate parts could be manufactured by this
route in a few years time. As Wigmore puts it, 'These things could
be as small as the materials allow you to make them.'
