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The
28-ton, water-cooled Arburg (German built) injection molding machine has
been proven invaluable for short runs of small parts. It is a
production-quality machine that can be used to mold thermoplastics,
engineering plastics, and consumer plastics.
Cut
weeks from a development schedule
Because
Omnica has this production machine and the required mold-making
equipment in-house, we can often cut weeks from a development schedule.
Normally, after a mold, or “tool” is built, it is sent to an
injection molding company which can produce, or shoot, the first article
parts. When the company receives the tooling, there is typically a 4
week waiting period before the parts are actually made. After the first
articles are molded, they are sent back to the engineering department
for measuring and evaluation. If any changes are required, two more
weeks could be added to this initial process.
When
we design and build the tooling for small projects (up to about 1.3
ounces, approximately the size of your fist) we have the capability to
mold the first articles. If any changes are required, it is sometimes
possible for us to modify the mold and re-shoot the parts that same day.
Liquid Injection
Molding
 From
padlock seals to components for liquid
oxygen containers, silicone rubber components are integral to many of
the products we design. We often have the need to produce working
prototypes of these materials, but in a fast-track project a real
limitation is a relatively long cure time. RTV and addition-cure
silicones will typically require 8 to 24 hours to cure before the part
can be extracted from the mold for use.
Turn around time for production-type LIM (liquid injection molded)
silicones and fast thermal cure materials can be accelerated with the
application of heat. Since Omnica is known for having access to the best
and most applicable resources, we upgraded our plastics molding
capabilities by acquiring a production-quality thermal press (see
picture). With the PHI Thermal Press, we are no longer limited to one or
two cycles per day for the pre-production testing of experimental
silicone parts and tooling.
The
dual-range press can be used to mold production-type silicones, epoxies,
urethanes, and thermally-cured materials much faster than was possible
in the past. Using an aluminum mold (which we can build in-house), we
are able to produce fully cured parts in 5 to 10 minutes instead of 4
hours. It accepts molds up to 8" x 8" and uses temperature
controlled plates (for heating and cooling), called platens, that can
maintain pressures up to 40,000 p.s.i.
This
versatile machine allows us to offer high pressure laminating,
compression molding, simulate liquid injection molding. It can complete
many other processes used in industry for the production of plastic
parts.
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