See James Conkey from Accumold, a micromolding firm, describe the firm's Micro-Mold process as well as the tiny parts it makes. The company, in business for 25 years, makes its own presses and the tooling for micro parts. One part is so small, the firm produces 56,000 pieces out of out of one ounce of material. Molding these entails using the special presses which can control exceedingly small shot sizes. Conkey explains how all the fundamental best practices of plastic design still apply for micromolding, just at a smaller scale. For example, consider that parting lines, which can create flash, are still necessary. Locating the lines on non-critical surfaces thus becomes an important design-for-manufacturability consideration. Micromolded parts are usually made in one to four-cavity molds because they reproduce features better than high-cavitation molds. Running time: 5 min. www.accu-mold.com
