• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Homepage
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • FAQ
  • English
    • Dutch
    • French
    • German
    • Italian
    • Spanish
  • About Us
  • Capabilities
  • What is Micro Molding?
  • Examples
  • Insights
  • FAQ
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Request a Quote
  • English
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Français (French)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • Español (Spanish)
Back To Insights
Education Homepage Featured

What is innovation? No, seriously…

By Alex Anderson

04/01/2022
Share
Print Icon Print

Engineers in the medical space are solving complex problems and a company calling itself “innovative” doesn’t matter to them in the slightest. While working on a new project FA last week, the OEM team wanted to test challenging resins for a mold we knew likely wouldn’t work. We surprised them, and even ourselves.

The new resins they wanted to use had a durometer about ¼ of the previous resins. The goal was a better product for their customer, BUT the new resin choice introduced sticking and failure to shear at the gate. Not good. But our DfMM team figured it out instantly because they’re geniuses. Actually, no. That’s not what happened. The real story is quite messy and filled with failure.

Our DfMM Team Failed (and they’re not ashamed)

Our DfMM team failed. Then they picked themselves up, and failed again. They tinkered with the physical mold itself. They adjusted the mold temperature. They adjusted resin temperature. They adjusted moisture and attempted various injection speeds. This went on the full day utilizing a lot of time from multiple teams. Our DfMM team could have called and simply said “Alex, this isn’t going to happen.” But like I said, we’re a stubborn bunch.

Our team has an incredible amount of experience, but that doesn’t mean they have instant solutions for the newest breakthrough tech engineers are imagining. Here’s the truth: No one does. They know the only way to make impossible engineering goals work is to keep at it.

When real innovation happens

Real “innovation” in engineering isn’t a word you slap on your website to make the customer feel good. That’s an insult to great engineers. Innovation, or solving a problem no one else has solved, involves putting your pride on the line, setting a clear goal, face planting over and over, and obsessing over that goal even when you are convinced it’s a lost cost—when failure may be the only option.

You might not be working with a micro molder on your next project. That’s fine. Whatever manufacturer you work with though, make sure they’re willing to admit they don’t have the answers, but stubborn enough to find them for you.

Get a fast response from a micro mold engineer.

Share
Print Icon Print
Alex Anderson Accumold
Alex Anderson

Alex Anderson is a sales engineer at Accumold covering the Southeast USA. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in Mechanical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Related articles

  • LinkedIn Live: U.S. Skilled Trades Workforce Challenges & Opportunities

    by Justin Brady
  • ACCUMOLD TO SHOWCASE MEDICAL MICRO MOLDING CAPABILITIES AT MD&M EAST 2025

    Communications

  • THE NON-NEGOTIABLE NEED FOR QUALITY IN MICRO MOLDING

    04/11/2025

    Communications

Post navigation

« Previous Post
Next Post »
  • What is Micro-Molding?
  • Request Quote
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • ISO 13485
  • ISO 9001
  • ISO 14001

Accumold

1711 SE Oralabor Rd
Ankeny, IA 50021

Phone: 1-515-964-5741

Fax: 1-515-964-5742

© 2024 · Accu-Mold · Iowa Web Design by Webspec

This site uses cookies to make your experience more user friendly. Click this bar to read our privacy policy.OkPrivacy policy