There is a great deal of price pressure on suppliers in the automotive industry. As well as the financial interests of the car manufacturers, strong competition means that suppliers are always looking for ways of producing their components more cheaply.

The product quality often suffers from this price pressure. This can lead to sales being lost rather than saving money. For example, this occurs because you have to put a large proportion of your resources into development time and the development of prototypes.

This doesn't have to be. You don't have to risk looking for savings in the wrong place. When the shift gate was being manufactured, we succeeded in combining the decades of experience of our teams with the inventiveness of our employees and the high quality standards of Otto Klumpp.

The result: A unique, fully automatic concept for manufacturing a shift gate which fulfils both the high quality demands and the price expectations of the automotive industry.

With this fully automatic concept, we manufacture your car components in a cost-effective way without sacrificing quality

Thanks to sophisticated automation, based on a linear removal unit on the machine, we were able to fulfil all of the production requirements and solve the task. The concept for the 2-way series-produced mould took just
12 weeks to create. Thanks to the findings from the
1st cavity, we were able to insert, overmould and remove the metal parts (4 inserts per component) within just
30 seconds. The shift gate, which is made from a highly reinforced, filled material, is very stable and precise (tolerance of 100ths of a millimetre).

The advantages for you: No long drawn-out development time, which means that the development costs for a prototype tool are not expensive.

Ventilation elements for different car components have to carry out filigree filtering work at the same time, and increase the service life of the sensitive vehicle technology. In order to provide ventilation, and so that pressure equalization can take place, air molecules must be passed through quickly.

On the other hand, other substances such as water must not penetrate the filter, nor must condensate form in the components of the car. The ventilation elements must do all of this for as long as possible with the same degree of reliability.

This requires precision work when these elements are being manufactured. At the same time, a high degree of purity and automation must be guaranteed during production.

For this particular project, Otto Klumpp has developed a procedure which combines the maximum degree of automation with consistent product quality in the nano range. This has resulted in high-quality ventilation elements which fulfil all of these requirements.

We can produce your durable, filigree filter technology at the push of a button using Otto Klumpp's modern assembly injection moulding procedure

The assembly injection moulding procedure allows us to combine components made from different plastics and materials. With the aid of an intelligent system, we combine a membrane, a cover and an O-ring made from different materials into one product. Each individual step is continuously monitored using state-of-the-art measuring instruments, and is subjected to continuous quality checking. The automation which has been developed for this works so precisely that Otto Klumpp achieves a ppm rate of 0.2. As far as you are concerned, this means that you can rely on consistently defect-fee and outstanding product quality.

An engine compartment cover has to perform a wide range of tasks. For example, it must protect the sensitive technology of the engine from martens and reduce the noise level of the running engine.

It must also be lightweight, strong and durable. At the same time, it must be mass-produced and delivered at low cost and with consistently high quality.

Plastic is the ideal material for this. But in order to meet the quality requirements of the product and the requirements of the logistics chain, modern injection moulding technology and highly efficient processes are required. You get both from Otto Klumpp.

From tool development to serial assembly to delivery: Consistently durable engine covers like on an assembly line

A fully hardened single-cavity mould was manufactured to produce the large-volume engine compartment cover. 64 temperature control circuits were required in order to ensure that there was consistent product quality. And an equal number of sonotrodes ensures that the individual parts are permanently connected during ultrasonic welding.

In addition to the technical challenge, the main focus was on optimising the supply chain management. We succeeded in covering the entire logistics chain for our customer ­ from tool development to the internal production of the plastic parts, serial assembly and delivery of the finished product to the end customer.

For you, this means: Optimised collaboration, a high-quality and finished OEM product with a long service life and no warehousing costs.

Even during so-called routine operations, there is always a certain residual risk. One of these risks increases with the amount of blood loss in the patient: the risk of infection. Because every millilitre of blood that is donated increases the risk of patients and staff being infected with diseases such as hepatitis or HIV.

To reduce this risk and reduce the need for donor blood, a special procedure has been developed – autotransfusion. In this procedure, the blood that the patient loses during an operation is collected, processed and returned to the patient during the operation.

Every single piece of equipment must be reliable during an operation. In the best case, these devices and medical products can be used in many consecutive operations without losing quality and stability. This also applies to the vacuum container which is required for autotransfusion. This must remain usable and reliable over the long term for the safety of the patients and the staff, as well as for financial reasons.

In order to guarantee this, our tool and the material had to fulfil a number of requirements during the manufacture of the large and also uneven vacuum container made from thin-walled polycarbonate. Time and money also had to be saved during manufacture. Thanks to its experienced specialists, state-of-the-art tools and fully automatic labelling, Otto Klumpp has once again achieved project success.

Lasting safety for patients and staff with short cycle times thanks to modern injection moulding tools and fully automatic labelling.

The fully automatic labelling concept developed by Otto Klumpp makes it possible to save a tremendous amount of time and money during production. It provides consistent quality and short cycle times. Immediately after the spraying process, the scaling is applied in the form of labels with an accuracy of 0.1 mm.

Be it in the process industry, personalised medicine, for infectious diseases or suspected blood poisoning: Fast, reliable test results are needed so that potentially life-saving measures can be initiated in good time. But what do you do if you don't have a laboratory?

You need a reliable diagnostic system whose material fulfils your requirements down to the last micrometer - even if you don't have a fully equipped laboratory at your disposal.

Hahn-Schickard has developed such a space-saving diagnostic system in the form of LabDisk. Otto Klumpp manufactured the technically complex components of the diagnostic system using high-precision plastic injection moulding and injection compression, which makes reliable use of LabDisk in practice possible.

In order to turn LabDisk into a reliable and cost-effective diagnostic system, we had to overcome a number of technical challenges. In addition to high-precision injection compression in both the micrometer and the bigger centimetre range, we had to fulfil the following criteria during the manufacture of the LabDisk, among other things:

• Manufacture of injection moulding and injection compression tools that are suitable for series production.
• The reaction chambers must have ultra-thin walls (0.4) for quick nucleic acid detection using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
• The chambers must have low surface roughness (Ra 0.05) for extracting tiny DNA by transporting magnetic particles.

Modern injection moulding simulation and compression, as well as precision milling technology, make LabDisk a reliable analysis system

How does Otto Klumpp ensure that LabDisk provides you with reliable test results?

First you receive an optimized LabDisk design, which is based on different fluidic basic operations and injection moulding design rules, and is tailored exactly to your application.

We then optimise your design with network, injection moulding and filling simulation, so that errors can be detected and avoided in advance.

In the next step we manufacture your individual LabDisk. Modular injection moulding and injection compression tools, which we also manufacture specifically for the production of your individual LabDisk are used, among other things. We also use specially manufactured milling cutters with a diameter of ≤ 200 µm, with which we mill precise radii of ≤ 100 µm into the fluidic structures.

Your LabDisk therefore corresponds to the results of the previous simulations down to the last nanometer. Because even a distortion in the micrometer range can severely impair the function of the LabDisk.

As a manufacturer certified in accordance with ISO 13485, we manufacture an individual LabDisk for you which fulfils your requirements and wishes exactly. This allows you to obtain reliable test results quickly and easily, even without a laboratory.

The plastic parts which we manufacture are all made from polyphenylene sulfone (PPSU). This material fulfils the strict requirements which apply to plastic components in medicine in an optimum way. For example, the components must be able to withstand 5,000 cleaning and sterilization cycles in order to make problem-free use in everyday hospital situations possible without loss of functionality.

The right processing

In order to fulfil the demanding requirements, the materials must be processed correctly. This not only requires extremely specialised equipment in the machine park, but it also requires a great deal of plastics processing and toolmaking expertise. This is because the component can only withstand the requirements of 5,000 cleaning and sterilization cycles if it has an internal stress level of (less than) < 5 millipascals (mPa) after production.

If the internal stress level is above 5 mPa, aggressive chemicals such as cleaning or sterilising agents will cause hairline and stress cracks. The result of this damage is that sterilization of the surgical equipment can no longer be carried out successfully.

Our injection moulding tools are specially designed for processing polyphenylene sulfone (PPSU). They can withstand extremely high processing temperatures of up to 390°C and extremely high injection pressures.

In the same way, the entire processing chain, from material drying to material transport and a specially designed injection moulding unit (400°C), is designed for the special requirements.

With our expertise and many years of experience, we provide high-precision solutions which fulfil the high demands which are made in medical technology.

The majority of all heart surgeries are performed on the open heart. These operations place high demands on the staff, the medical material and the devices. Because the heart has to stop while the heart surgeons operate on it. But of course, the gas exchange in the lungs and the bloodstream must continue to run reliably during this time.

The machines which perform this task are known as heart-lung machines or HLMs. A crucial part of the HLM is the cardiotomy reservoir, which is upstream of the artificial lung ­ the oxygenerator. In the resting state, the human heart usually beats about 60 times per minute, transporting 60 ml to 90 ml of blood per heartbeat. That is about 300 litres of blood per hour which the HLM has to transport when it takes over the work of the heart and lungs.

It is important to prevent haemolysis when doing this – a mechanical overload which can damage the gas-carrying red blood cells, causing them to lose their function. The cardiotomy reservoir must therefore function both robustly and precisely over many hours and for many operations. This also involves some major challenges during the manufacturing and testing process, because as well as producing a high-quality product, the effort and the costs must also remain within the framework of the available resources.

This is precisely what we have achieved with this innovative and customer-oriented all-inclusive solution:

High-quality cardiotomy reservoirs with minimal use of resources thanks to modern plastic technology and an automatic production cell

We did not only supply the injection moulding tools, but also the injection moulding machine and the peripherals, including a clean room cell that is specially designed for the special on-site requirements. Our customer's employees also took part in the testing and qualification of the reservoirs at the Otto Klumpp site in order to guarantee that there would be a smooth start to production.

Thanks to our filter manufacturing expertise, as well as fulfilling complex tasks such as manufacturing the filigree mould cores of the riser tube or the filter insert, which provides a maximum filtration surface and the best flow conditions, we succeeded in developing a fully automatic production cell. This made it possible for our customer to avoid complex and cost-intensive assembly, and reliably produce high-quality cardiotomy reservoirs to a high quality standard.

High production costs are a constant topic in many areas of medical technology. One such area is the manufacture of cannulas. Steel is usually used in this case, because it is robust and is a perfect match for the requirements of a cannula.

Plastic cannulas are also commercially available, but the design and use thereof is severely limited by the majority of the plastic injection moulding and tooling technologies which are available.

A stable mould core pin is normally used in the manufacture of plastic cannulas. This ensures that the cannulas can be manufactured as problem-free as possible and with low maintenance costs.

However, this means that the most commonly used plastic cannulas are much shorter than steel needles, i. e. a maximum of 10 to 15 mm, and have a significantly larger outer diameter which is usually at least 3 mm.

This is a problem because a cannula with a bigger diameter can hollow out the diaphragm of the medicine vial too far, which will allow the contents to run out. That is the reason why Australian medical technology manufacturer SSB Technology developed a one-piece medical plastic cannula with an inner diameter of just
0.6 mm.

Otto Klumpp manufactures this using modern, patented moulding and processing technology known as Core IT, using injection moulding.

Individual plastic cannulas with an inner diameter of 0.6 mm and a length of up to 40 mm thanks to precise injection moulding technology

How does Otto Klumpp manufacture a one-piece medical cannula with individual dimensions?

The final shape of the cannula can be programmed with the machine by using movable mould elements which have been specially developed for the SlowFlow cannula. In this way, one-piece cannulas with different dimensions can be manufactured without having to replace the cannula mould every time.

As a manufacturer who is certified in accordance with
ISO 13485, we manufacture your individual and sterile cannulas from high-performance plastic. This reduces your production costs by up to 25 %, and you get a high-quality medical product.