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This article originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of Design2Part magazine. You can download a PDF of the original here.
By Rebecca Carnes
Supplying heavy-gauge, large-part pressure forming at lower quantities has insulated Ray Products from having to face much overseas competition. The simple reason, according to Jason Middleton, the company’s vice president of sales and development, is that heavy-gauge, large-part pressure forming doesn’t outsource well. (more…)
We talk a lot about tooling here at Ray Products, but if you’re not familiar with pressure forming, you might not know what tooling is. So, we thought we’d help with a quick introduction to pressure forming tooling .
The Foundation of a Successful Project – Literally
A properly designed, and a built tool is critical to every pressure forming project. It’s one area where cutting corners is definitely a bad idea.
At Ray Products, we stand behind our tooling. We’ll guarantee the performance of your tooling for life, as long you’re using it for manufacturing in our facility.
What is a Pressure Forming Tool?
A pressure forming tool is a mold that creates the shape of a pressure formed part. It’s made to match the shape of the final part, and when the plastic is pressed against it, it takes on the shape of the mold. (more…)
Pressure forming makes sense for medical device enclosures. Lots of sense. It’s something we’ve talked about here in the past.
Recently, Medical Design & Technology ran an article written by our VP of Sales & Development, Jason Middleton. The article is titled, “Making The Case for Pressure Forming Medical Device Enclosures.”
Jason finishes up the article with, “if you don’t consider pressure forming for your next medical device enclosure, you might be leaving your best option on the table.” He couldn’t be more right.
Give the article a read, and let us know if you have any questions.
Say you’ve decided that pressure forming is the right process for your next plastic manufacturing project. How do you choose the right company to pressure form with?
While we’re obviously not a neutral party in this situation, we do have some advice that will help you get on the right track.
Price Matters
It’s not a bad idea to get your first project quoted by multiple pressure formers. If you’re not familiar with the industry and what things should cost, it can help to make sure that you’re not being taken advantage of.
But it’s important to make sure you’re considering more than just the total at the bottom of the quote sheet.
How much would it cost you if you didn’t meet your deadline? What about the cost of changing your mold because of unexpected problems? Or the costs of production defects?
Look at price, but remember that the cheapest quote you get up front, might not offer the best value in the end.
When it comes to manufacturing medical device enclosures, there are several processes to choose from. We know we’re a bit biased, but more often than not, pressure formed plastic really is the best option for medical device enclosures.
Here are 9 reasons why.
When you factor in both tooling and production costs, pressure forming quite often has the lowest total cost of any other process in volumes of the high-hundreds to mid-thousands. These are very common quantities in medical device enclosure manufacturing.
Our pressure forming machines can create single pieces up to a full 10’x6’, with up to 40” of depth. That’s the type of size you need when you’re creating enclosures for things like MRI, CT and X-Ray machines, or ancillary equipment like beds and chairs.
When you’re pressure forming, you can choose from literally hundreds of materials. These materials can come with properties like excellent impact protection, V-0 flammability ratings and even built-in antimicrobial resistance. The same thermoplastic materials that are used for injection molding are commonly used in pressure forming. (more…)