MICRO MACHINING | NEWS
CHEMICAL ETCHING:
THE NEXT GENERATION of Resonating Biosensors
Highland Biosciences Ltd, creator of leading edge diagnostics technologies, has partnered with Precision Micro in the development and manufacture of a miniaturised ‘tuning fork’ biosensor. The component forms an essential part of HBL’s proprietary micro viscometer, that
is claimed will improve the safety of a number of medical procedures by providing results conveniently at the point of need.
The biosensor design comprises of three micro engineered stainless steel tines, which resonate many thousands of times a second, detecting microscopic changes in film thickness, density and viscosity of a liquid sample and converting the presence of bacterial toxins into an electronic signal.
With a tight innovation cycle needed, and a reliance on the material properties being unaffected during manufacture, both stamping and laser cutting were ruled out as viable methods of both prototype and serial production. HBL opted instead to use the chemical etching process.
Using tightly controlled chemistry to selectively remove metal atom by atom with micron accuracy, chemical etching imparts no stress or burr on the base material. The process is also highly versatile, with digital tooling allowing for design iterations to be carried in hours, rather than days and weeks.
As every biosensor produced requires a perfectly clean surface to ensure consistent adhesion of the surface coating, Precision Micro developed a dedicated post-process cleaning operation supported by 100% automated optical inspection.
“We have been constantly impressed by the level of expertise at Precision Micro; with their support we have been able to quickly get to a mass producible design and to receive our parts with minimal downstream processing,” said Dr Richard Day, Managing Director at HBL.
Both innovation and the advanced etching techniques employed in the production of the biosensor were recognised by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the UK’s leading innovation agency.
“By overcoming major competition from other companies from all over the UK, our team managed to attract TSB funding for a £1m manufacturing development project,” said Dr Day.
He concluded: “The TSB project focuses on the mass- manufacturing and scale up technology needed to launch the first product.”
With development now near to completion, the biosensor is being readied to make the transition to volume manufacture, expected to reach 50 million components over the next five years, utilising the same digital tooling and to a quality comparable to parts produced in silicon.
PRECISION MICRO LTD
www.precisionmicro.com
28 | commercial micro manufacturing international Vol 6 No.6
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52