Micromachine for max accuracy

END USER: Rolenn Medical Products, (951) 682-1185, www.rolenn.com.
CHALLENGE: Accurately machine EDM electrodes used to produce micromolds for medical parts.
SOLUTION: A high-speed, high-precision, 3-axis micro milling machine.
SOLUTION PROVIDER: Microlution Inc., (773) 282-6495, www.microlution-inc.com.

As medical devices get smaller and more sophisticated, creating the molds used to shape new products becomes more of a challenge. When finished parts are measured in millionths of inches, and the devices save or sustain lives, accuracy in the manufacturing process is paramount. Accurate molds are required to make accurate parts, and accurate cutting tools and machining equipment are needed to make these molds.

Most medical-device molds are made of ultrahard metals and require EDMing to cut the mold cavity and edges to specification. To achieve the tolerances of a new mold, Rolenn Medical Products, Riverside, Calif., often needs to make its own custom EDM electrodes.

Rolenn produces small silicone parts for the medical industry (bottom) using molds created with EDM electrodes machined on its Microlution 363-S micromachine.

Ron Piotrowski, head of mold design at Rolenn, found a “go to” electrode milling solution in the Microlution 363-S from Microlution Inc., Chicago. The 3-axis micro milling machine offers micron level accuracy and tolerances, according to the machine tool builder. “Everything we do is a challenge,” he said. “Making electrodes for micromolds is one of them. The 363-S has handled everything we’ve thrown at it.”

Piotrowski found the Microlution 363-S when searching for a way to create a micromold for silicon seals that wouldn’t leak. Silicon, which has about the same viscosity as water, tends to find any gap in the mold, no matter how small. It costs as much as $1,500 per pound, so leakage is costly.