A mold mainly shapes molten or soft materials into a set form. Common examples include injection molding and casting. A die, in contrast, is used to cut, stamp, or shape sheet metal accurately. Both tools help create products efficiently, but work with different materials and methods.

Rubber injection molding is a process that uses heat and pressure to shape rubber into finished parts. It starts with raw rubber, usually in strips or pellets. These are fed into an injection unit where they are heated until soft and pliable. Once ready, the rubber is injected into a closed mold under high pressure. The mold cavity is shaped to match the final part.

A washer is a small but essential part of mechanical assemblies. It is a thin, flat plate with a hole in the center that fits around a screw, bolt, or nut. Washers help fasteners connect surfaces more effectively. They spread out the force from tightening, reduce wear, and keep joints secure over time.

Ultra precision machining is a process that produces parts with extremely tight tolerances, often in the micron or even sub-micron range. To put this in perspective, a micron is one thousandth of a millimeter. Traditional machining allows for small deviations, but ultra-precision machining keeps these deviations almost nonexistent. This ensures parts fit perfectly, move smoothly, and perform reliably.

Tensile stress is the force applied to a material divided by its cross-sectional area. It shows how much pulling force acts on each unit of area. The standard units are pounds per square inch (psi) or megapascals (MPa). When the stress reaches a material’s tensile strength, the material will break.

Fabrication joins and shapes metal parts using cutting, bending, and welding methods. Machining removes material from a solid block using tools like mills or lathes. Fabrication works well for large or complex assemblies, while machining is better for small, precise parts. Sometimes, the two methods overlap, but each has its own strengths.

Flatness in GD&T shows how close a surface is to being perfectly even across all points. It controls how much a surface can vary in height. Flatness sets a tolerance zone made of two parallel planes to do this. The surface of the part must stay between these two planes. This prevents bends, waves, or bumps that could cause trouble during assembly.

A Medical Device Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is a company that designs and makes medical devices for other businesses. They do not sell products under their own brand. Instead, they handle the technical and production work needed to deliver a product ready for the market. OEMs can support early-stage development, prototype testing, regulatory compliance, and large-scale manufacturing.

Value added assembly goes beyond simply putting parts together. It is a process that combines several steps into one service. Instead of sending parts to different vendors for sub-assembly, wiring, fastening, or packaging, one provider handles everything under the same roof. This reduces handoffs and keeps production flowing smoothly.

Contract assembly means working with an outside partner to assemble parts, subassemblies, or finished products. The client can supply the components or ask the provider to source them. The provider then follows the given instructions to assemble the product. This method helps companies control costs, lower risks, and focus on their primary business.

Turnkey manufacturing is an end-to-end service. The turnkey approach means the customer hands over a project to a manufacturer who manages everything. The provider oversees product design, prototyping, material sourcing, production, assembly, testing, and packaging. The client receives a final product that is ready for use or sale.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and ODM means Original Design Manufacturer. OEM focuses on producing items based on a buyer’s design. ODM, on the other hand, develops products from its designs and sells them under another company’s brand. Both approaches help businesses bring ideas to market, but differ in control, cost, and flexibility.

True Position is the exact location of a feature, such as a hole, pin, or slot, as defined concerning datums. Simply, it tells us where a feature should be placed on a part. Instead of focusing on the exact X and Y values, it defines a zone—usually a circle or cylinder—within which the center of the feature must fall.

Blow molding is a plastic-forming method. It starts with melting plastic and forming it into a hollow tube called a parison. This parison is then placed in a mold. Compressed air is then blown into the parison. The air pushes the plastic outward, and it takes the shape of the mold. Once cooled, the mold opens, and the part is removed.

Circular runout controls variation at each circular cross-section. Total runout controls the entire surface across the length. Circular runout focuses on roundness at one spot. Total runout adds straightness and taper checks across the whole feature.

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) means designing products that are easy and cost-effective to make. The goal is to reduce costs, speed up production, and avoid problems later. DFM looks at every detail of a design and checks if it fits the tools, machines, and materials used in the factory.