What is DFM?

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is an in-depth process intended to design a high-quality product that is easy to manufacture at a lower cost. It occurs at the beginning of product development, well before tooling or assembly are involved. The phrase “Go slow to go fast” is apt here. Taking the time to design a product efficiently catches and prevents mistakes – saving valuable production time while reducing manufacturing costs. At Currier, our team of professional engineers utilizes their knowledge and experience to implement the best procedures for any requirement, leading to better part-to-part consistency and significantly reduced mold costs.

What does DFM entail?

At Currier, we’ve advanced the process of taking our customers’ product designs from the initial sketch to the final production. An idea that seems great on paper may not always be so in reality. Prototyping is an important, hands-on step in the DFM process as it allows a design to be tested to evaluate the product’s safety and usability. Many prototypes can be created and refined to fix any design issues discovered and enhance the product’s function and performance. Currier also provides material selection recommendations as part of this process. With experienced engineers and state-of-the-art technology, Currier has advanced prototyping capabilities.

The DFM process also involves the use of 3D scanners and engineering modeling software. Currier can take a customer’s existing design, quickly recreate it with the 3D Scanner, and then make design alterations to the product’s weight, geometry, aesthetic appearance, and more. We can also scan any object to quickly attain highly accurate and measured data. RapidsWorks software builds a feature tree, breaks down the scanned object into components, and produces a model that is imported into SolidWorks, where it can be used to make renderings and drawings for client review. Overall, Currier’s 3D scanner technology and software programs help shorten product development time, reduce costs, and improve quality.

Another tool to ensure customers get the best possible product is Finite Element Analysis (FEA). FEA works by breaking down an object into hundreds of thousands of finite elements, using mathematical equations to predict the behavior of each element. A computer then adds up the behaviors to predict the behavior of the actual object. FEA can be helpful when selecting the right material and seeing the performance outcome of the product. It’s yet another tool Currier has invested in to ensure its customers receive the best design and, in turn, the best product.

A Satisfying Result

Currier’s dedication to its customers sets it apart from other manufacturers; everything we do is with their success in mind. That’s why our customers are involved from the first design to the final production. When you choose to work with Currier, there are no surprises or shortcuts, only guaranteed satisfactory results. With the most advanced technology, a team of experienced engineers, and a thorough Design for Manufacturing process, Currier sets the standard for high-quality, consistent products you can trust.

Ready to get your product from a design to the finish line? Contact us today!

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Our Molded Products

Currier provides medical and pharmaceutical markets with a full range of value-added capabilities. We’ve manufactured a wide range of products for these industries, including:

• Reagent bottles
• Reagent packs
• Substrate bottles
• Wedge packs
• Foil line closures
• 96W plates
• PCR tubes and closures
• Cuvettes
• Pipette tips
• Sample collection devices
• UTM and VTM vials
• System fluid containers
• Vacuum bottles

We carefully select the proper resin material for each product, keeping in mind that it may or may not have a unique substance in the bottle or container. Materials like high-density polyethylene (HDPE) have a high tolerance for the possible substances that could be in a reagent. Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, is another standard resin in these applications, and polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) also may be used. We team up with our resin distribution partners to select the perfect grade for the application. If no specific grade of material is needed, we have a portfolio we can offer that we use for similar products.

Custom Injection and Blow Molding to Meet Your Needs

We offer our customers both custom injection and custom blow molding for the manufacturing of their medical components. When it comes to custom blow molding, because most products we make for these industries must fit inside a medical device, the unique shape and size of the custom blow-molded parts are integral to how the device functions. This verifies that the operator is using the correct bottle when inserting it into the device and that the operator is using approved or authorized reagents inside of it. The use of counterfeit or “knock-off” products could potentially report false information, but also puts the clinician and patient at risk. With custom blow molding, incorporating custom features into the bottle can minimize that risk.

Regarding custom injection molding, our equipment, ranging from 44- to 500-ton clamping pressure, includes engineered in-mold and end-of-arm robotic systems. Automation is incorporated throughout the equipment spectrum. Full statistical process control and vision inspection, which helps our engineers measure small, hard-to-assess features, ensure that even the most complex medical devices are made to perfection.

With our efficiency and expertise in both custom injection and custom blow molding, our customers are in the best of hands.

Up For Any Challenge

Currier can meet the unique challenges that manufacturing components for the medical industry can present. Many of our customers in the medical or pharmaceutical field develop a device or instrument where their chemistry interacts with blood, urine, or skin to give a clinician information about a patient. Those devices are usually built first, and the custom-molded part must fit inside. We take concept drawings from mechanical engineers and transform them into moldable parts. Because these parts tend to have many critical features with tight tolerances, we use an in-depth part qualification process and a higher frequency of in-process checks. Precise measuring equipment and techniques are essential to the success of the parts.

Another challenge we’re meeting is the increased need for medical components as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the medical world evolves into a more individualized field, we can provide the products the industry needs. We’ve built new molds for additional capacity, purchased a new molding machine, and added manufacturing equipment. We also recently purchased a new facility to triple our ISO Class 8 cleanroom space to accommodate the growing demand in the IVD, point-of-care, and life science markets. We have and are continuing to add resources to support product demand. Throughout it all, we strongly focus on maintaining our commitment to quality.

A “What Else Can We Do?” Approach

At Currier, we’re always thinking of what else we can do for our customers. We ask ourselves, “What value-added service can we incorporate into the process to make it easier on our customer supply chain?” and incorporate different services where we are a good fit to give our customers a finished solution. For example, we can automate a post-mold process, assemble molded parts with purchased components to make a finished good, etc. By doing more than just molding, we can completely meet our customers’ needs.

If your current supplier no longer molds your part or you’re unsatisfied with their quality or pricing, Currier can help you seamlessly transfer that product over to us. We can transfer your mold with its corresponding auxiliary and quality equipment to successfully run your application without any downtime or product stock out.

Read more about our work within the healthcare industry. Ready for Currier to help with your next medical device or component? Contact us today!

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