The console housing and service trolley mould tools and mouldings for PlasmaJet, a new neutral plasma coagulator being developed by Plasma Surgical, are being manufactured by Midas Pattern.

The console housing and service trolley (front panel) mould tools and mouldings for PlasmaJet, a revolutionary new neutral plasma coagulator being developed by Plasma Surgical, are being manufactured by Midas Pattern following a competitive tender process. PlasmaJet consists of an electronic console mounted on a portable, floor standing service trolley that also houses the argon tank. Central to the success of PlasmaJet as a manufacturing project were the two largest mouldings - the console housing and service trolley front panel.

The appointed moulding company tasked with producing these parts had to fulfil many prerequisites, including: the ability to work closely with the client and its design agency; meet strict deadlines; manufacture tooling and moulded components of the highest quality; and, importantly, provide the most competitive quotation.

Midas Pattern Company won the contract based on its ability to match these requirements.

To help accelerate the development of its products, Plasma Surgical retains Greaves Best Design as its technical adviser.

Based at Lockerley in Hampshire, Greaves Best is a product and engineering design company that has been involved with PlasmaJet from the outset.

'Initially we produced 3D CAD models,' explains company partner Mike Best.

'Then we produced what we thought was the largest single piece SLA model in the UK at that time.

A set of rubber tools followed, which we shot with PU and produced six prototypes sets so we could prove-out the process.

Once we had done this we needed the input of a PU moulder to move the development to the next stage: the manufacture of production mould tools and the moulding of an initial 50 sets of parts.' Greaves Best has known of Midas Pattern Company since the mid 1990s and had no hesitation in including the Bedford company in a shortlist of companies invited to tender.

All Midas Pattern Company PU mouldings are manufactured using the company's own, specifically developed 'metallised' resin injection moulding (MRIM) process.

A metal-filled composite resin mould tool is manufactured directly from a CNC machined master model or pattern: this technique ensures the most complex of forms can be produced accurately and very quickly.

Complex forms can be generated using various coring, side action, and even multi part mould tool techniques.

Square faces, undercuts, metal inserts, bushes and features that would normally require machining can all be cast into Midas Pattern Company mouldings.

ISO9001:2000 accredited Midas Pattern Company believes that the highest quality rigid polyurethane mouldings can only be produced from tooling of equal quality.

By manufacturing accurate, hard wearing tooling Midas Pattern Company can offer ongoing repeatability without mould tool deterioration.

In fact the company guarantees its MRIM tooling for the life of the product.

Since being commissioned by Greaves Best to produce PlasmaJet mouldings, Midas Pattern Company has completed the tooling manufacture and to date has delivered further sets of parts - on time.

'Midas Pattern Company has always delivered on time,' confirms Mr Best.

'As a company I find them very responsive and I enjoy dealing them.' 'PlasmaJet has massive potential,' concludes Mr Best, 'but this potential could not be realised without the valuable input of Plasma Surgical's partner suppliers.

Midas Pattern Company have fulfilled our expectations and helped ensure this product is set to have a massive impact on the medical industry.

The technology deployed by Midas Pattern Company and the whole hearted support of the company's engineers have been of enormous benefit to Plasma Surgical.'