Various modern technologies relating to precise design and manufacturing are beginning to make a widespread impact on medical industries. Perhaps most noteworthy, or at least most exciting to discuss, is 3D printing. This astonishing technology is being used to create everything from standard tools to complex biomedical implants; last year, we wrote about a patient-specific 3D-printed spine model that was successfully used on a patient with scoliosis! And even examples like these are likely just the beginning of 3D printing’s long-term role in healthcare.
If 3D printing is the most exciting modern design technology to discuss in healthcare though, injection molding may ultimately be the most broadly significant. It’s less likely to be used for things as fascinating as spinal models, but is likely to produce more materials that hospitals and other medical facilities need over the long run. And recent indications are that injection molding, too, has only just gotten started.
Specifically, Yahoo Finance ran a story suggesting the global injection molding market size will grow from $375 million in 2018 to $746.2 million in 2026. Those numbers speak to the entirety of the injection molding market, but the story specifically cited a “high demand for injection-molded ceramic products” in the automotive and healthcare sectors. We should note quickly that ceramic injection molding specifically is not the only kind relevant to healthcare; other materials, too, are used to create products in this sector. But the report nevertheless indicates the increasing interest in precision molding as a means of manufacturing much-needed products for medical use.
This interest is likely based on two key factors that many remain largely unaware of: the ease with which professional-quality injection molding projects can now be completed, and the variety of products the process can be used to create.
Regarding the first point, we’d simply note that injection molding has become a more expedient and customization at the industry level. Speaking to the capabilities of rapid design molds and production tooling, Fictiv reveals that complex designs can be ordered in a range of materials, and orders can be comprised of single parts for validation or hundreds of thousands of units for active use. This means that whether a hospital wants to test out the design for a new tool, or a medical supply company wants to order entire new categories of supplies, various methods of injection molding can get the job done.
As for the second point, about the variety of products that can be created via rapid design molding and production tooling, there’s virtually no end to the possibilities. People tend to see demonstrations of injection molding, or read explanations of the process, and assume it’s useful mostly for large appliances or ultra-specific designs. To give you some idea of the range of products we’re talking about, injection molding can be used to create silicone padding, surgical grips, pill containers, syringes, bottles, and even containers for other medical tools. And these are just a few of dozens, or more likely hundreds of possibilities.
Through all of these options and the increasing ease with which injection molding orders can be fulfilled, the healthcare industry should indeed help to drive significant growth in the molding market. In fact, we won’t be surprised if it helps the market reach even more lucrative heights than those that have been forecasted.
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