TactoTek, the pioneer of In-Mould Structural Electronics (IMSE), and acad group GmbH (acad), a European specialist in engineering, prototyping, and plastic injection moulding, have entered into an engineering partner agreement, establishing acad as an IMSE license partner to support the development of IMSE-based solutions.
acad provides aluminium-based injection moulding tools and prototype parts for product development, pre-series, and small-series applications. With over 30 years of experience and a highly digitalised manufacturing environment, the company enables fast and cost-efficient production of complex plastic prototypes, including 1K, 2K, and 3K parts. Rapid delivery is enabled by acad’s in-house Rapid Moulding System (RMS) tool concept, which allows fast tool manufacturing, modification, and iteration throughout the development process.
Dedicated prototyping partner
Within the IMSE ecosystem, acad serves as a dedicated prototyping partner, delivering moulded parts using IMSE-compatible polymers. This brings clear value to customers across different industrial sectors, including automotive. Using the original materials will represent accurately optical, functional and strength-related properties during development. As a result, component geometry and tool design can be optimised early, supporting reliable validation while reducing coordination effort and minimising the risks involved in changing toseries tooling.
TactoTek’s IMSE technology integrates lighting, touch controls, electrical components, and circuitry directly into three-dimensional moulded structures. By replacing conventional multi-component architectures with structural electronics, IMSE enables lightweight, thin smart surfaces that combine distinctive design and improved performance with reduced assembly complexity and lower total system cost.
IMSE validation with speed and confidence
“We warmly welcome acad as an IMSE license partner,” said Sami Hyyryläinen, Senior Vice President, Licensing, Strategic Sales and Markets Expansion at TactoTek. “They are an excellent addition to our global ecosystem. With acad’s highly specialised expertise and ability to provide rapid prototyping services using IMSE-compatible materials from the outset, customers can validate their next-generation IMSE solutions with speed and confidence.”
“We are excited to join the IMSE ecosystem as a license partner,” said Alexander Kalusche, CEO of acad group GmbH. “This collaboration opens new opportunities for our customers across industries to develop highly integrated smart surfaces. By combining IMSE technology with our rapid prototyping capabilities, we can support faster innovation, reliable validation, and a more efficient path toward production readiness, with short lead times and competitive pricing.”