Manufacturing Spring for the Medical Industry Part ll
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Manufacturing springs for the medical industry requires tight-tolerance spring manufacturing methods.
Exotic spring-tempered materials such as Elgiloy, Inconel, Monel, and Hastelloy are used in the medical industry and are required in many medical spring applications. These types of materials can be found in all types of springs; compression springs, torsion springs, extension springs, flat springs, wire forms, as well as endless other types of spring-tempered forms.
Still, many spring wire medical applications use three hundred series stainless steel spring wire. The stainless steel spring wire used in medical applications has special coatings, unlike the normal soap coating used to lubricate spring wire so that it runs through the spring coilers with less friction. The very small-diameter spring wire used in medical applications are diamond drawn which lubricates, but with no soap or lubricant chemicals.
These types of medical products these springs are used in include and are not limited to; pacemakers, pill dispensers, medical pumps, hearing and sight aids, implants, prosthetics, implants, and guidewires.
Guidewires are an interesting medical spring application. Guidewires are placed into arteries and veins to reach a specific organ such as the heart or liver. Guidewires are rigid which is why they are spring tempered, to allow doctors to maneuver them around vessels. The FDA is very involved with the approval of using guidewire devices. Strict guidelines are enforced with using guidewires not only by the FDA, but also by doctors themselves.
It takes specialized spring manufacturing personnel and a spring manufacturing facility to manufacture the sterile medical spring products. The very small spring wire requires patience by the operators of the spring manufacturing equipment, as well as clean rooms needed for sterilized spring manufacturing. Medical springs require specialized packaging for most applications as well as specialized assembly such as laser welding.
Medical spring manufacturing is not something that a spring manufacturer decides to do overnight. Much must be considered to enter into the medical spring manufacturing market.