Precision machining is required for all manufacturers making parts in medical industry or aerospace industry. The Medical industry is made up of complex parts involving complex geometries which include medical implants, bone screws, surgical blades, cardiac and pulmonary devices and critical medical device components for CT / MRI scanning systems.
There are various sectors in medical industry that needs precision components -
Orthopedics - Parts in this sector include reconstructive devices, spinal implants, hip implants, knee replacements. Manufacturing processes used are CNC machining, casting, injection molding or rapid prototyping.
Medical Instruments - These can be sub classified based on their use
Surgical Instruments - Some of the common surgical instruments are dilators, sutures and complex parts used in robotic surgeries.
Diagnostic Instruments - Some of the common diagnostic medical instruments are CT, MRI, Ultrasound scanning instruments.
Cardiovascular devices - Some of the common devices includes pacemakers, defibrillators, drug stents.
Diabetic devices - CGM is one of the most common device being used by most of all diabetic patients.
Common Medical Instruments - This list can include certain surgical tools, spinal devices, catheters, syringes, internal fixation devices, neuromodulation devices and urology devices.
Dental Instruments - Dental probe, Dental Drill, Spoon excavator, burnisher, scaler, curette are most common devices
Custom Parts - This sector comprises of mostly customized parts which are custom made based on body measurements. This can include several medical implants.
Unlike alloys from aerospace, which are very hard and tough to machine, medical parts are manufactured from softer materials.
Some of the materials used in medical device industry are stainless steel, copper, titanium, and aluminum.
Titanium is most popular metal used for internal use because of its least resistance for corrosion . Titanium doesn’t interfere with CT scans or MRIs.
Stainless steel is most commonly used to manufacture different screw types for bone. Most bone plates are also made of stainless steel.
Copper, Brass are used most commonly for external medical equipment. Copper has also less antimicrobial and antibacterial properties which makes it highly suitable for hospital settings.
Medical parts manufacturing machine shops often use any of the below process to manufacture parts -
Machining - CNC Precision machining is the most common machining process incorporated in manufacturing medical parts. This process is used in majority because of various advantages -
High Accuracy
High Production Capacity
Flexibility in customization
Cost-effective
Shorter Lead Time
Micromanufacturing / Nanotechnology - Medical devices are becoming smaller and smaller and this technology is becoming prominent in the recent times.
Additive Manufacturing / 3D Printing - Additive manufacturing allows for customization of various medical precision parts
Medical parts are most commonly used in surgeries and inside the human body. The tight tolerances on these parts can be held by cnc precision machining services. High Precision, Accuracy, Quality, Surface finishes are some of the core components that need to be considered while manufacturing. State-of-the-art CNC machining equipment in combination with trained and skilled machinists are necessary.
Machining capabilities of swiss machining technology is the most precision cnc technology that is used in medical device manufacturing to produce high-quality machined parts. The unique guide bushing design which can hold concentricities to the odds of +/-.0001 and in combination with live tool holder, multi axis machining, cnc milling, cnc turning thee machines make them the smart choice for complex parts such as bone screws, tiny tubes, fittings, valves, surgical drills, trepanning tools, bone plates etc.
The ability to process machined components complete helps machine shops to meet the strict surface finish and cosmetic requirements of medical device / healthcare industry.
Because of regulatory and stringent quality requirements and because many medical parts have a direct impact on the quality of human life, medical device manufacturing shops must implement high quality control.
Medical equipment machine shops must make sure no part will exit the facility without meticulous inspection to ensure part meets or exceeds all finish requirements. In addition all medical machining machine shops must adopt ISO 13485 quality control requirements in checking the quality of parts for medical device industry.
Because of the complex and unique geometries, standard method of inspection using hand held equipment has it’s own limitations so Vision Systems and CMM’s are some of the most common inspection technologies that are used to check the quality of the machined parts.
