Vendor to mold/cast small parts from moderately exotic epoxy

[KENAT]

Colleagues of mine have come up with a product idea that will essentially involve over molding epoxy onto a small MEMS device to create a small expendable component.

The epoxy they've used for prototypes (with a ptfe mold to allow release) is an off the shelf epoxy adhesive but with high chemical compatibility which means it's pretty thick to work with and I believe requires at least one part of the resin to be warmed for mixing. The chemical compatibility is a key requirement as it has to work with some very aggressive solvents at slightly elevated temperature though for a moderate duration.

They are apparently happy with the performance but it's too labor intensive for us and they'd like to either outsource it to someone (though finding someone to handle the delicate MEMS may be an issue) or find a way to make the process less labor intensive/at least partially automate it.

Any suggestions as to who we could talk to either to do it for us or to make a mold/injection system etc. would help - my Google Fu is apparently week as I keep finding resin suppliers or people that make molds from epoxy but not what I actually want. We're Santa Barbara (CA, USA) based so a vendor in the LA area would be great but further afield could also work - preferably US though. Even suggestions of what terms to search would help.

(Sorry if some descriptions are vague but it's IP senstive.)

Thanks.

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[berkshire]

Kenat,
There are some small aerospace companies in Tehachapi , that specialize in close tolerance molding for the aircraft industry.
They are pretty low profile. but there is a composites supply house in town that can give you a list of their customers.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[HDS]

Try thermoset molding or encapsulation as a keywords.

Reaction Injection mold might also work if the urethane is good enough substitute. The process is the same as what you want to do. Rimnetics in California does that.

 

[Demon3]

An expert in electronic parts packaging (i.e. encapsulation with epoxies) is Jeff Gotro. You can find him via Google.

Chris DeArmitt - PhD FRSC

Plastics & Materials Consulting

http://www.phantomplastics.com

Plastic Training Seminars

http://www.plastictraining.com

 

[MikeHalloran]

I used to work in a small medical electronics company that did a lot of work with small parts and epoxy. We used a paraplegic for most of that work. He was happy to have the work, and accustomed to sitting all day. Given good lighting and good magnification, he could be more consistent than a machine.

( Tommy had been doing that sort of work for many years. Whenever he was 'between jobs' and wanting to stay that way for a while, he would register at the unemployment office as an 'encapsulator'. Since there's no corresponding Federal job description, he could rely on them not being able to find work for him until he ran out of beer money. )

Another possibility is housewives, possibly some of your own. There used to a pressure gage company in PA that didn't really have a factory as such, just a group of women who would each carry out an operation on a tray of parts on their kitchen table on their own schedule, then a messenger would deliver the tray to the next 'shop', and so on. The only overhead was people to buy the raw materials, ship the completed goods, the messenger, and someone to set the piecework rates. Basically, everybody could work part time, make decent money, and still be home to run the house.








Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[KENAT]

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

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