Late last year, Ray Products, Inc., conducted a second annual thermoforming industry survey. More than half of the survey respondents represented medical device manufacturers. Their answers provide some helpful insight into industry trends.

Guill Tool & Engineering Company, Inc., West Warwick, RI, provides tooling for plastic, rubber, TPE, and other material extrusions, with end products ranging from extremely thin-walled, multi-lumen medical tubing and catheter balloon tubings up to multi-layer wire and cable jacketing. Guill also provides tooling...

Medical device companies typically have a complex supply chain bringing products to market. Within their four walls, there are usually multiple business units responsible for different segments of developing, manufacturing, and delivering products...

The demand for minimally invasive procedures is growing, as patients seek to spend less time on the operating table and in the recovery room. Micro-molding has emerged as the solution for medical device manufacturers, allowing smaller devices to change an open surgery into a minimally...

Applimotion, Inc., Loomis, CA, offers custom direct drive motor assemblies with its popular ULT, UTH, UTS, and UTO brushless frameless motor kits inside. With sizes ranging from 10 mm to 500 mm in diameter, and pancake profiles as low as 10 mm, assemblies include precision bearings, special encoders, special...

Plastic Optic Fiber (POF) is an established, continually evolving technology available since the early 1980s. From the outset, it was a technology not highly visible for years. At times, it was utilized as a media product within another product, attached to a variety of opto-couplers or light sources....

Polycarbonate (PC) is one of the engineering thermoplastic materials most commonly used and most widely tested in the medical device industry today. Its inherent strength, excellent optical clarity, high heat distortion temperature, and dimensional stability make it an ideal...

Stringent product quality and process capability requirements confront producers of precision medical tubing used in medical device applications. This includes final tubing physical properties, such as burst strength, elongation, and lubricity. Medical tubing must also be free from...

Steute Meditech, Inc., Ridgefield, CT, announces its medical-grade, fully-compliant, wireless foot controls. Each customized unit features proprietary technology to achieve safe, interference-free performance. Operating in the ISM 2.4 GHz band, the technology continuously monitors the integrity of the bi-directional...

Lubrizol Corporation, Wickliffe, OH, launched a flame-retardant thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) product, ,which is the first of its kind to feature high flame properties, low halogen content, and a soft, matte or gloss finish. This TPU exhibits low smoke and low toxicity, enhancing its suitability for an array of...

Morgan Technical Ceramics, Fairfield, NJ, announces its range of piezo ceramic Air in Line sensors, ideal for use in medical equipment, including infusion pumps, enteral feeding pumps, and dialysis equipment. The sensors are available as either a standard or custom-manufactured model to suit specific OEM needs, and can be...

Have you heard of Robohand? No, it’s not the next sci-fi blockbuster. It’s a story of compassion, technology, and a collaboration from 10,000 miles apart between Richard Van As, a woodworker from Johannesburg, South Africa, and Ivan Owen, a theatrical prop designer from...

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, grew from startup roots in the mid- 1980s to a $2.2 billion business by 2012, according to industry consultants Wohlers Associates, Fort Collins, CO. While it took 20 years to reach the $1 billion plateau, the industry reached its...

If molten plastic behaved like a simple fluid, there would be little need to worry about balanced filling during molding. The melt would fill the cavities like water, and the way the mold filled would have little or no influence on the properties of the molded parts. In reality, molten plastics...

Medical device designers frequently face the need to adhere products to the skin, whether it is for a few minutes or in perpetuity. The huge array of pressure-sensitive materials available can make product selection a daunting task. This article outlines some of the most basic...

Aerotech, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, offers a full range of additive manufacturing motion systems and components. Aerotech manufactures its own motors, drives, and motion controllers, and offers a selection of linear, rotary, lift, and Z-axis stages and goniometers with advanced drives and controls,...

Surface Solutions Group, LLC, Chicago, IL, introduces a new process to permanently mark the surface of fluoropolymer items, from fluoropolymer tubing to PTFE coated surfaces. Called VisiMark®, it can be used to mark practically any component with graduations, product codes, bar codes, color codes, arrows,...

Tech-Etch, Inc., Plymouth, MA, specializes in the etching, forming, heat treating, and finishing of components made from metals with superior spring characteristics. Materials include MP35N, elgiloy, beryllium copper, stainless steels, nitinol, and phos bronze. A team of experienced product...

Interface Catheter Solutions, Laguna Niguel, CA, introduces an online tri-layer co-extrusion catalog to order tubing. The catalog offers extrusion for .014" guide wire for peripheral dilatation catheters along with minimally invasive catheters with varying inner and outer diameters to accommodate a standard size...

Bioresorbable polymers for medical devices encompass a broad class of materials with two of the more common materials being poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid). Some terminal sterilization processes may result in changes in materials properties, thereby significantly impacting the...

The use of lasers to mark surgical instruments has become of greater significance, however, the parameters used in these applications are not always fully appreciated. The medical industry, in particular, has utilized laser technology primarily to mark, weld, and cut medical...

Around the world, people are living longer, more active lives thanks to continuing advancements in medical technology. This evolution in technology stems from the development of metals and alloys that are finding new uses in internal and external medical applications. From improvements...

Medical device manufacturers are being challenged by strong market demand for tubing that delivers increased functionality, lower profiles, and lower costs—pushing the limits of material behavior and manufacturing science. Next-generation balloon catheters are expected to deliver significantly...

Medical imaging technology is improving at a remarkable speed, but most imaging technicians and physicians still use a mouse and keyboard to manipulate in two dimensions the complex ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images generated from this technology.

Recent demands from hospitals, practitioners, and even patients themselves calling for more functions and increased portability, has created a market for upgraded surgical, diagnosis, and monitoring equipment. Coupl ed with increasing medical costs, the push for shorter hospital...

Agrowing array of electronic devices are available to healthcare providers, patients, and their families, including glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and many others. To ensure safe, reliable performance of...

Xilinx, Inc., San Jose, CA, Xilinx has now taped out the semiconductor industry’s first 20nm device, and the PLD industry’s first 20nm All Programmable device. Xilinx has also implemented the industry’s first ASICclass programmable architecture called UltraScale™. These milestones expand on Xilinx’s...

Insulating and jacketing material options for wire and cable are innumerable, even if the field is narrowed to those with some qualification for use in medical electronics. Material selection for medical electronics is a complicated decision that begins with defining...

What is DFx? DFx is an acronym used often in reference to concepts or guidelines involving design for manufacturability, test, and production readiness. In the world of innovative and complex medical devices, DFx can be an invaluable tool for meeting business objectives by ensuring an emphasis during development on...