BOLTON, Ontario—With expertise in LSR and liquid injection molding techniques, Silcotech North America Inc. can take on just about any type of design-for-manufacturing project.
The Canadian company works with OEs in the medical and automotive spaces, and can handle high-volume runs, but its true expertise lies in "starting small and growing with a customer."
Such is the case in Silcotech's work with Valencia, Calif.-based Neotech, as the two firms have produced a patented Neotech Bridge Breastfeeding Device, designed to assist mothers after childbirth.
The key technical achievement in this case is in the molding technique for delivery of silicone, Silcotech said in a Dec. 2 release.
"We've heard stories from focus groups with moms who say they struggled to produce enough milk after childbirth—and all said that this product can really help supplement the baby at a time when milk production is low and help start to produce more," said Craig McCrary, president of Neotech, which develops products made (primarily in the U.S.) for NICU, PICU and other hospital departments.
According to Silcotech, the kit features a thin, silicone nipple cover with a built-in channel that attaches to a syringe.
"It started from handmaking prototypes to handmaking parts to a new tool built—there was an elaborate progression of technology and advanced manufacturing to get the product where it is today," said Dan Morris, business development manager at Silcotech. "When it comes to the mold, the technology is in the delivery of the silicone."
The bridge kit was created in consultation with a board-certified lactation expert who works with mothers experiencing a range of breastfeeding difficulties.
Silcotech said no product like it existed on the market.
"We helped them make a silicone shield that had an integrated channel and tube for delivering formula into the nipple shield from an external syringe," Morris said. "We developed a two-stage process at first, then a two-shot mold that molds the part with an open flap, then seals the flap with a second shot of silicone."
Silcotech, using its 105, 103 and 101 stages of iterations, proposed an early design tool using aluminum for the second part, ultimately producing the part using two-shot LSR molding.
"The second sealing shot of silicone for the liquid channel was left to a manual process until the part design development matured faster," Morris said.
A short production run ensued at the 105 stage, Morris said, and feedback from Neotech's customers was positive.
Success in this initial stage pushed the product to the 103 stage, still using a manual process for the fluid flow channel.
The 101 stage saw the product produced using a "2-cavity sealing tool," an overmold coupled with a fully automated, two-shot injection molded process.
"This was a big help in meeting customer demand, increasing part quality and consistency, and was a valuable step prior to designing a fully automatic two-shot molding process to create the finished product," Morris said.
Neotech has purchased the plans from the original investor and plans to scale up the project further.
"Silcotech leveraged its knowledge of creating hollow spaces in silicone parts as well as two-shot molding technologies to start the design of the ultimate molding systems," Morris said. "The two-shot molding solution shows this product is now matured and is scalable."
Beyond this design, the market is vast, Morris said, as a large percentage of mothers experience breastfeeding challenges. Neotech is targeting both hospitals and the retail space.
"It's important to cover the technical ground, but without the powerful and emotional story behind it, it wouldn't have near the impact," Neotech's McCrary said. "The stories of the effectiveness of this product have been amazing to hear."
Silcotech employs about 120 people and has about 32,000 square feet in Ontario, with about 10,000 square feet of that as warehouse space.
