"What are the functional attributes of the part? We help to quantify the risks and iterate on that valuation, ultimately finding a geometric shape that meets the function," Maloney said. "Then we move to 103 and 101. During that whole time, we are adding information and knowledge.
"It is a living document that grows as the process grows. But you need to stay light on your feet."
Silcotech works in both TPE and LSR injection molding, and there are major differences in the LIM process with each material.
TPE molding does not require a dosing system as LSR molding does, the latter often using multiples streams. While some companies designate a specific LIM machine for a specific material, the Arburg injection molders can be retrofitted to either function, and Silcotech uses them as such.
Extremely tight tolerances and massive thermal expansion with TPEs, as they are heated to a few hundred degrees Celsius during molding, are challenges to contend with as well, Maloney said.
"We are experts at molding elastomers and our specific focus is LSR, but a customer might be struggling with the elastic nature of TPEs, causing damage to a part," he said. "Dealing with maleable materials is our daily bread."
Experience in both materials makes further logical sense, since most silicone parts are part of something else, as is the case with overmolded products.
"We will mold thermoplastic if there is silicone connected to it," Maloney said, adding that the first thermoplastic press was installed in Bolton more than 25 years ago. "The TPE piece, for us, is growing in scope."
In either case, the custom molding future looks bright for Silcotech.
"We have an internal goal to double our business in the next five years," Morris said. "And that is our mantra, to follow that path.
"With the phase we are in now, riding a normal growth curve, let's pour on the gas a little bit and make something happen in the next three to five years."