Robotics Injection Molding
Lightweight structural parts, soft-touch grippers, clear sensor housings and sealed enclosures for robots, molded in Canada.
Manterra provides robotics injection molding in Delta, BC, Canada. We combine automotive-grade quality systems with high-performance engineering resins to mold the plastic parts robots depend on, giving North American robotics companies a capable domestic alternative to offshore production.
Manterra Technologies is strategically positioned as one of North America’s premier manufacturing partner for the robotics sector. Our facility in Delta, British Columbia, combines automotive-grade precision with aerospace-level material science, providing a secure, highly capable domestic alternative to offshore production.
Robotics Injection Molding Capabilities
The robotics and android industry represents the ultimate convergence of mechanical engineering, sensor fusion, and artificial intelligence. To bring these systems from the lab to commercial viability, manufacturers need specialized polymer components that reduce weight without sacrificing structural integrity or sensor fidelity.
- Structural Exoskeletons & Metal-to-Plastic Conversion
- Advanced Gripping, Haptics, and "Skin" Integration
- Zero-Defect Sensor and Vision Housings
- Modularity and High-Torque Mounting
- Environmental Hermetic Sealing
- North American IP Protection and Agile Logistics
- IATF 16949 Certified Reliability
Structural Exoskeletons & Metal-to-Plastic Conversion
Humanoid robots must balance payload capacity and battery efficiency, making weight reduction critical. We help replace heavy machined metal parts with high-performance engineering resins such as PEEK, PEI and glass-filled nylon.
Our 300- to 450-ton presses mold substantial rigid components such as torso chassis, limb segments and joint housings. These parts gain the strength, stiffness and dimensional stability of engineering polymers, in materials about half as dense as aluminum.
Advanced Gripping, Haptics, and "Skin" Integration
For collaborative robots (cobots) and androids designed for human interaction, the tactile surface is just as important as the mechanics. We leverage sophisticated elastomer overmolding and 2-shot injection molding to create complex end-effectors and protective skins.
We can mold soft, high-friction thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) directly onto rigid skeletal substrates. This allows us to produce precise robotic grippers with integrated soft-touch pads, joint dust-boots, and vibration-dampening bumpers in a single molding step, with no adhesives or assembly.
Clear Sensor and Vision Housings
A robot is only as good as its sensors. LiDAR, infrared arrays and stereo cameras all look out through plastic windows, and any haze, flow line or stress in that window degrades what the sensor sees. Our optically clear molding process produces transparent domes, protective lens covers and light pipes with controlled stress and minimal distortion. For infrared and LiDAR windows, the resin grade has to transmit the sensor’s wavelength, so we match the material to your sensor before tooling.
Modularity and High-Torque Mounting
Robots are highly modular, requiring frequent maintenance, upgrades, and high-torque connections where servos and actuators meet the plastic chassis. Threads molded directly into plastic wear with repeated assembly and can strip under high torque. We install brass threaded inserts with ultrasonic insertion, so servos and actuators can be bolted on and removed repeatedly without damaging the part.
Sealing Against Water and Dust
Robots working in industrial, agricultural or outdoor settings need their electronics and servo motors protected from water, dust and chemicals. We mold seals and gaskets directly onto housings with elastomer overmolding, so they can’t fall out or be fitted wrong, and we join housing halves with electromagnetic welding where a permanent, hermetic seam is needed.
Made in Canada for North American Robotics
Robotics designs are valuable intellectual property. Molding in Canada keeps your tooling and part designs in North America, under Canadian law, rather than in an offshore plant. Parts made in Canada can qualify for duty-free treatment under CUSMA/USMCA when they meet its rules of origin, and we can supply the origin documentation your customs broker needs. We also support Kanban and just-in-time deliveries from our 15-press plant.
IATF 16949 Certified Reliability
Robots that carry heavy payloads or work beside people can’t afford hardware failures. Manterra is certified to IATF 16949, the international quality standard for automotive suppliers, and we apply the same defect-prevention and traceability practices to our robotics work.