If you’ve worked with any injection molders for thin parts, you may have seen a dreaded no-quote. In the best case scenario, as a Product Development Engineer, NPI procurement, NPI Sourcing, and R&D Engineer, you’ve been asked to water down your ideal part design to make it “ready” for micro molding—you don’t need to do it
Many engineers working on micro parts or components make manufacturing assumptions based on recommendations from other molding suppliers or information found on the internet, which causes wall thicknesses and feature sizes to be designed much larger than necessary. In this process, they spend considerable effort and remove ideal features that didn’t need to be removed in the first place.
How thin can I mold ___ material?
Micro molding is specialized. If you’ve received a no-quote on a micro molding project, you likely need a specialist. Doing it right requires decades of experience, training, and custom equipment. The result is capability that is far beyond what most experienced engineers think is possible. One of the most common things we see is designs that have been simplified to a standard we never set to begin with.
We have a dedicated innovation lab at Accumold whose sole purpose is pushing molding capabilities further every day. When we’re asked how thin can I mold ___ material, it’s exciting. In fact, we think more about pushing boundaries in half-micron increments than most people do in a lifetime.
Utilizing high-end flow analysis software, conducting internal cavity pressure studies, and tool optimization studies all happen in-house. The projects allow us to reach new levels of capabilities with thermoplastic and LSR injection molding.

No-quote next steps
Don’t change it. When a molder no-quotes your critical design, the temptation is to water down the ideal design. Don’t do that! Instead, design your excruciatingly difficult part with the ideal end patient or use case in mind. Then, seek the DfMM feedback of the expert engineering support at Accumold to discuss the component design. Ask experienced micro molders, like us, to help optimize for manufacturability without sacrificing the end function/intent of the part.
Engineers should design the ideal part first, then let us work with them to make the ideal designs manufacturable. In the majority of cases, you’ll find you don’t have to underdesign your part at all. In fact, if you open the door for optimizing the end product, you may also save critical functions.
By using Accumold’s internal over-molding or 2-shot molding experience, your micro capabilities don’t have to end with standalone plastic parts. You may be able to eliminate expensive gluing and press fitting operations, or eliminate o-rings/seals in your product assembly entirely. Eliminating extra components or operations by utilizing these technologies is a win-win for end product consistency and reducing cost in high volume manufacturing. Our expert team is happy to help you implement over-molding and 2-shot molding in your component designs.