MEDICAL MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS
Micro-abrasive blasting is a technology that is increasingly sought out by
medical device manufacturers. MicroBlasters®
are improving production quality and efficiency in medical manufacturing
worldwide in such areas as:
Catheter/Guide wire: Micro-abrasive
blasting is currently used in catheter manufacturing to remove polymer
coverings from small selected areas and to remove PTFE coatings from guide
wire. The process is also extremely effective at preparing surfaces to
promote bond and coating adhesion.
Sodium Bicarbonate media, with its sharp cutting action and water
solubility characteristics, is ideally suited for these types of
applications.
 Needles/Tubular
components: During the tube grinding process, a burr known as a
‘heel burr’ forms and must be removed. Holes or slots that are
laser machined in the tubing and may also require deburring.
Additional applications include selective texturing of the tube surface
prior to over-molding and light abrading to impart an echogenic or etched
surface finish.
Alumniunm Oxide and Glass Bead media are the most common blasting
materials for these types of applications.
Vascular stents: The vascular stent
manufacturing process generates undesirable material deposition on the OD and
ID of the devices. Oxidation and discoloration can also form on them
during production. The micro-abrasive blasting process is widely used
by stent manufacturers to remove the unwanted materials without altering the
intricate geometry of the devices.
MicroBlasting is used to lightly texture the stent prior to the
application of special coatings.
Aluminum Oxide and Silicon Carbide are typically used for stent
abrading.
Implantable devices: Bone screws, plates
and implantable prostheses often have intersecting holes or slots which are
difficult to deburr by conventional means but can be deburred easily by
MicroBlasting. Texturing may be required on these devices for example,
to promote tissue growth around the implant. The micro-abrasive
blasting process performs this task with precision and repeatability.
Silicon Carbide, Aluminum Oxide and Glass Bead are usually selected
for blasting these types of products.
Medical Molding: Injection molding is
used to produce a vast range of medical devices and disposable components.
The tooling needed to mold these products is very expensive and requires
periodic maintenance to the mold cavities.
MicroBlasting is used to clean and restore surface finishes without
introducing dimensional changes to the mold cavity. Additionally,
micro-abrasive blasting is used to remove EDM residue and to texture the
surface of the cavity on a new mold.
Crushed Glass, Walnut Shell, Glass Bead, and Plastic media are all
used for cleaning molds; Aluminum Oxide and Silicon Carbide however, are used
for cavity texturing.
 Medical
Electronics: Electronic components are prominent in medical
diagnostic and surgical instruments, as well as implantable devices such as
cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators.
Micro-abrasive blasting has been used to selectively remove silicone
insulation to expose an electrical conductor on defibrillators. It can
also remove excess encapsulation material from cardiac pacemakers.
Electronic diagnostic and surgical equipment contain printed circuit
boards that have a conformal coating applied to the components of the board
to protect against environmental conditions. Often replacement of
failed components is necessary. Micro-abrading can selectively remove the
coating so that the device can be removed and replaced.
Sodium Bicarbonate is frequently used for electronic applications.
Plastic media and Walnut Shell are also very effective for coating removal.
For more information about microblasting in medical applications,
read the following articles featured in industry magazines:
Production
Machining: Surface Treatment for Medical Parts
Medical
Product Manufacturing News: “Bringing it All In-House”
Medical
Product Manufacturing News: “Metal Fabricator Gains Competitive
Advantage through Automation”
Medical
Device and Diagnostic Industry: Microblasting: Expanding Options
 Cutting
Tool Engineering: "It's a Blast"
Also see the following PDF documents:
Application
Overview: Processing Medical Implant Devices
Dental
Implant Applications
Ring
Nozzle for Wire Stripping Applications
Bone
Screw Applications
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