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Review
. 2019 Apr 11;11(4):667.
doi: 10.3390/polym11040667.

Ultrasonic Molding Technology: Recent Advances and Potential Applications in the Medical Industry

Ulisses Heredia-Rivera  1 , Inés Ferrer  2 , Elisa Vázquez  3
Affiliations
Review

Ultrasonic Molding Technology: Recent Advances and Potential Applications in the Medical Industry

Ulisses Heredia-Rivera et al. Polymers (Basel). .

Abstract

Recently, ultrasonic molding (USM) has emerged as a promising replication technique for low and medium volume production of miniature and micro-scale parts. In a relatively short time cycle, ultrasonic molding can process a wide variety of polymeric materials without any noticeable thermal degradation into cost-effective molded parts. This research work reviews recent breakthroughs of the ultrasonic injection molding and ultrasonic compression molding process regarding the equipment and tooling development, materials processing and potential applications in the medical industry. The discussion is centered on the challenges of industrializing this technology, pointing out the need for improvement of the current process's robustness and repeatability. Among the most important research areas that were identified are the processing of novel engineered and nanomaterials, the understanding and control of the ultrasonic plasticization process and the tooling and equipment development.

Keywords: bioresorbable polymers; ultrasonic injection molding; ultrasonic molding.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Publications in the field of ultrasonic molding technologies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary ultrasonic molding technologies definitions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of the ultrasonic compression molding. (a) Sonotrode positioning and cavity filling; (b) compacting polymer powder; (c) ultrasonic plasticization; (d) cooling, release and flash peel. Adapted from Reference [25].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Temperature distribution in ultrasonic compression molding. (a) Before molding; (b) after molding. Adapted from Reference [13].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Ultrasonic compression molding platform. Adapted from [26].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic representation of the ultrasonic molding process. (a) Feeding; (b) Vibration initiation; (c) Plasticization and cavity filling and; (d) Holding stage and part release. Adapted from [18].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Mold assembly: (a) Main parts of the assembly; (b) an injection assembly unit. Adapted from Heredia et al. [20].
Figure 8
Figure 8
Schematic representation of different drug delivery devices. (a) Ultrasonically processed, solid controlled drug release devices reported in Reference [9]; (b) Micro-needles for transdermal drug delivery [32]; (c) Capsule shells for oral drug delivery [52].
Figure 9
Figure 9
Miniature parts manufactured by ultrasonic injection molding in our facilities: (a) Micro-test specimen with 30 × 4 mm and 1 mm thickness; (b) degradable plate of 20 × 25 mm and 400 µm thickness and; (c) ligation system fabricated by Elias Grajeda et al. [53].
Figure 10
Figure 10
Preliminary micro-fluidic plate of polystyrene fabricated in Ferrer et al. (a) Micro-fluidic plate of polystyrene; (b) Micro-channel dimensions.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Qualitative comparison among different feeding systems (sprue + runners + gates) against ultrasonic molding sprue and runners.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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