A piezoelectric apparatus comprising a piezoelectric element that is held in static compression is manufactured using moldable materials and a molding process, e.g., injection molding or die casting. The static compression is caused by an intrinsic urge of the moldable material to expand, contract, or deform otherwise, which develops in the material during the hardening phase of the molding process. To enhance the usefulness of the device, a variety of inserts can be connected to the device and various features can be formed by the moldable material at the same time as the molding process takes place. Static preloads may also be caused by mechanically preloaded elements that are introduced during the molding process or by elements that concurrently introduced but that are permanently deformed thereafter.