Good medical devices must satisfy three categories: they achieve tight tolerances, healthcare professionals can easily use them, and they help the patient heal. High-quality equipment and tooling ensure high-quality end parts for medical applications ranging from device pumps and motors to pacemakers, defibrillators, and surgical equipment.
Benefits of Metal Stamping Over Other Metal Fabrication Processes
Metal stamping comes with a host of benefits that set it above other metal fabrication processes. Manufacturers can easily automate the metal stamping process, making it a great method for mass-producing parts. These mass production capabilities also make it more cost-effective for large-volume orders — after paying the initial setup costs, each individual product over a certain volume does not contribute much to overhead. Furthermore, it’s much easier to repeat processes and duplicate components with stamping than with other fabrication techniques.
Metal Stamping Applications in the Medical Industry
Metal components serve a vital role in the construction of medical devices, which must be highly precise, durable, and biocompatible for both internal and external use. Due to its immense versatility, metal stamping allows the medical industry to create and refine these devices quickly and efficiently.
One of the most significant applications for metal stamping is the creation of implantable medical device components, which must retain their shape and be easy to sterilize.
Additionally, this process provides an ideal method for fabricating customized solutions. Metal stamping contributes to an expansive range of standard and customized medical devices, such as:
- Battery cases
- Shields and half-shells
- Capacitor components
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillators
- Stamped and machined lids, covers, and headers
- Neuromodulation products
- Implantable cardiac pacemakers
- Ventricular assist devices
- Implantable drug infusion pumps
- Implantable loop recorders
- Implantable hearing devices
Hudson creates a number of products for the medical industry. A couple of our most notable offerings include:
Device Enclosures
All permanently implanted medical devices, including pacemakers, cochlear devices, internal defibrillators, and drug pumps, are manufactured from titanium. Titanium is the only metal that the human body will not reject. Hudson has a long history of deep-drawing titanium into intricate shapes and has been manufacturing implantable titanium medical components since the early 1970s.
Implantable Components
Implantable components include the outer shield of the device, battery cases, and other components. By designing and building custom tooling, Hudson uses metal stamping to manufacture components for a variety of purposes affordably and quickly.
Strategies for Manufacturing Medical Components
To manufacture medical components of the highest caliber, the Hudson team uses the following practices:
Using Titanium for Medical Devices
Since the 1940s, titanium has been one of the medical industry’s preferred materials due to its ability to bind with both bone and living tissue. Titanium is incredibly strong and resistant to corrosion, making it ideal for a wide variety of medical components. At Hudson, we have experience working with titanium grades 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 23, each of which has its own unique benefits for the medical field.
Design Assistance
Due to the vital nature of the components created at Hudson, we are dedicated to working closely with our clients throughout the design process. From initial design development and prototyping into full production, our design team will work closely with you to turn your idea into reality while adhering to stringent medical industry guidelines. Metal stamping can incorporate part modifications, making the design process highly versatile. We can incorporate cleaning, embossing, and holes into all of our custom-manufactured medical components.
We place particular emphasis on creating medical components that are easily manufactured and highly reliable. To ensure these qualities, we employ:
- Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA): A thorough analysis that enables us to identify potential future failures, how serious these failures may be, and how to remedy them.
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA): This process examines the effects of physical forces (such as vibrations or heat) that may have a negative impact on the component. By looking at the component’s individual elements, we can anticipate how well the product will withstand these forces.
- RoHS Compliance: We comply with RoHS standards in order to ensure the quality of our products and the safety of our staff and clients.
High Production Run Sizes
Hudson has the capacity to produce deep-drawn prototypes, even for high-volume production runs. Thanks to the ability to automate the metal stamping process, this method is ideal for mass-producing parts.
Metal Medical Device Components from Hudson Technologies
Hudson Technologies provides industry-leading custom metal stamping for a wide range of medical applications. Founded in 1940, we perform precision metal stamping using state-of-the-art equipment, creating high-tolerance parts in large production volumes.
We design all our tooling in-house to optimize the production process. Our highly trained staff operates over 130 forming presses around the clock, working with mechanical and hydraulic presses ranging from 1-500 tons. We also use a servo press with a CNC lower cushion for special orders.
We draw our designs with reliability and manufacturability in mind, aiming to achieve the most affordable solutions through collaborative relationships with our customers. We also offer extensive modification capabilities, which allows for greater component customization. We perform in-house heat treatment as well as hydrogen and vacuum annealing to minimize lead times and optimize quality control.
To find out how our custom medical stamping services will benefit your next project, contact us or request a quote today.
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