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Tag Archive: metal stamping

  1. Deep Drawn Stamped Solutions for the Medical Industry

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    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

    Medical ProductsMetal 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

    Metal battery enclosuresAll 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.

  2. 3 Ways to Cut Costs From Your Stamped Metal Product Design

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    The team at Hudson Technologies is proud to offer a full range of metal fabrication services, including deep draw and shallow draw metal stamping.

    3 Ways to Cut Costs From Your Stamped Metal Product DesignClose collaboration is one of our core values, and not just within our team: We work with every client to ensure that their manufacturing project is optimized for quality, performance, and pricing. We carefully evaluate your needs and tailor product design to ensure reduced manufacturing costs and streamlined production, without ever compromising on finished quality.

    Wondering how we keep down costs, and how you can ensure you always get the best price for your stamped metal product designs? Check out our three cost-saving tips below.

     

    1. Consider Different Materials.

    Material choice plays a huge role in the overall cost of your design. Depending on the required part size and specific project requirements, material costs can be easily managed with regard to both material type and thickness in order to maximize performance.Various Metal Materials

    For example, a thin-walled aluminum part may perform just as well as a thicker-walled part made of a heavier metal, depending on the application. If that heavier metal is stainless steel, the aluminum part could come in at ⅓ the material component cost!

    Carefully evaluate your applications’ temperature, environmental, strength, and chemical corrosion requirements. This will help in determining the necessary material performance while ensuring you get the best value. And don’t forget to consider specific manufacturing needs — some metals are more difficult to deep draw than others, which can drive up processing costs.

     

    2. Keep Part Shape in Mind.

    A part’s shape can play a major role in its tooling and forming requirements. For example, when considering a deep drawn metal enclosure, keep in mind that a round deep drawn case is easier to manufacture than a case with corners. Also, consider:

    • Inside bottom bend radius
    • Ratio of diameter to draw depth (for round cases)
    • Inside corner bend radius (for square and rectangular shapes)
    • Ratio of width to length to overall case height

    It’s even possible to reconfigure the depth of a part’s draw; some designs can be adapted from an extreme deep draw to a lesser draw by crafting two shallower halves that are then welded together.

     

    3. Take a Look at Different Manufacturing Options.

    How many parts will you require? The scale of your project will dictate the best-value process. For example, a low-volume (<50,000 pieces per year) job would be best suited to line tooling or processing through a series of tooling setups and presses. While the part itself may end up costing more, the low investment in tooling will allow for significant savings.Metalworking Process Machine

    High-volume runs of over 50,000 pieces, on the other, make more sense with progressive or transfer tooling styles. While these processes involve significant initial tooling costs, the production itself is highly automated, allowing for a much lower price per part.

     

    Working With Hudson Technologies

    For over 75 years, Hudson Technologies has been an industry-leading metal diaphragm designer and manufacturer, and we’re proud to assist clients throughout every step of the metal stamping process, including critical cost analysis and budgeting.

    To learn more about our stamped metal product capabilities, check out our Turnkey Solutions eBook.

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