Manufacturing Constraints: the Good and the Bad

Injection molders in the medical device industry are experienced in achieving thin walls, tight tolerances and very small part features. In those respects, medical device design has fewer constraints than do other industries where walls are typically thicker and features larger for structural integrity. Generally, we do everything possible to eliminate undercuts and other problematic geometry in our designs. But relatively lower price pressures for some medical products create economics for the medical market that allows design features that might be cost-prohibitive to achieve in other industries. Collapsible cores can be used to create undercut features, tighter tolerances can be held and draft angles can be less.