A defence technology company approached Plastic-IT Ltd with a design concept for a multi-component assembly using innovative polymer solutions. The client had approached a number of other consultants and moulding companies for assistance with the development of their concept, however they had not been able to find a supplier who was willing to commit to such a leftfield project.
The materials chosen by the client were also unusual and the material suppliers were not confident of the outcome either – this was really pushing all boundaries. Overmoulding of metals or other polymers is a common application in injection moulding, but this design required a totally encapsulated component. This has some unique challenges and requires a novel approach to deliver the result, an additional challenge came in the form of the materials to be moulded which included a foaming agent.
Prototype tools were initially manufactured to provide a multiple thickness part, this enabled studies on the material foaming and its characteristics as these influenced the part performance. The next stage considered the overmoulding of other components with the foamed material to provide a fully encapsulated part without visibility of the internal structure. This R&D project has developed over a 12 month period, at each stage of the process we have exceeded the expectations of the client in achieving what was thought to be unachievable.
We have successfully developed the process and tooling configuration and is able to produce prototype parts with all the features of the final product to facilitate testing and verification of the design.