Smart Molding International 1-2021

34 smart_molding international 1/2021 molds and tooling E valuateMedTech™ released a re - port in 2018 estimating that the global medical device industry achieved a compound growth rate of 4.4% from 2011 to 2018. The total mar - ket value in 2018 reachedUS$440 billion. They forecasted that by 2024, the mar - ket sizewould reach $595 billionwith an average annual growth of 5.6%. In early 2020, the COVID-19 virus was confirmed as a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) due to the significant spread around the Globe. While many industries have been impacted tremendously, the medical industry has been brought into the spotlight due to the soaring demand for medical devices. Considering the phenomenal de - mand driven by the pandemic, the growth rate is expected to be much higher than the previous estimation. As a leading hot runner supplier, Mastip is recognized as an “Essential service provider” by the New Zealand government. Leveraging manufactur - ing capabilities from factories in both China and New Zealand, Mastip contin - ues to provide high-quality hot runner solutions to their global medical cus - tomers with minimum disruption dur - ing the COVID-19 pandemic. Mastip supplies hot runner sys - tems to a wide range of critical medi - cal solutions including PPE (personal protective equipment) such as hand sanitizer packaging and face shields, diagnostic products such as nasal and throat swabs, pipettes, blood tubes, and respirator components such as casings, connectors, oxygen masks and humidifiers. Mastip understands the critical de - mand on medical products meeting their tight production schedules and ultimately reaching those healthcare services. Mastip has a vast global net - work ready to support the client's every need. With decades of experience support - ingmedical customers, Mastip provides reliable and cost-effective solutions to ensure the customers maximise their productivity. Here are two examples: Improved Wear Resistance During 24/7 high-volume produc - tion, hot runners tips can wear out pre - maturely resulting in several potential issues. For instance, flashing or string - ing on the product, visible gate vestige, or excessive cold slug in the gate area eventually blocking melt from filling the cavity. In response to mitigate those risks, Mastip provides medical customers with long-lasting solutions to extend the tool’s service life. Manufactured from hard wearing tungsten carbide material, the unique G5 tips provide excellent thermal per - formance. Whether it’s the first shot or the mil - lionth shot, G5 tips ensure consistent gate quality and conformity every time. Close pitch solution During COVID-19, the demand for disposable medical devices such as syringes, blood collection tubes and pipettes has increased with the grow - ing number of infections worldwide. For these thin-wall and long cylin - drical products, the mould typically adopts a compact layout to maximise the number of cavitation. Mastip’s multi-gate solutions are engineered specifically for challenging applications requiring close-pitch gates in restricted areas. Both axial and side gating are avail - able withMastip’s multi-gate solutions, which optimize the mould layout to achieve cost-effective production. In addition, the service-friendly de - sign allows operators to service the tips without removing the mould from the injection moulding machine once cavity plate is removed. Although many countries have en - forced mandatory lock-down periods to reduce the spread of the virus, it has not disappeared but instead slowly evolved into a "protracted war." As a trusted hot runner solution provider, Mastip will continue to provide prod - ucts and services to support their med - ical customers to win the battle. Mastip www.mastip.com COVID-19 Era - Solutions for medical companies to win the protracted battle New multi-gates (Picture: Mastip) Mastip continues to provide high-quality hot runner solutions to the global medical customers with minimum disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.