machinery feature | Medical tubing
NDC’s Beta LaserMike
system helped Pleasant
Precision to cut waste and part rejects
At the same time, US-based Pleasant Precision Inc (PPI) – which specialises in the extrusion of light tolerance medical tubing – recently took steps to reduce material waste and part rejects by installing a measure- ment system from NDC. PPI inherited an extrusion system from a customer – bringing it its first extrusion process – but the extrusion line included only a single-axis laser diameter gauge to measure the outer diameter (OD) of the product for quality control purposes. When extruding plastic medical tubing, the critical measurement is the inner diameter (ID). It took 1.5 hours, and around 20 lbs (9kg) of waste
material for PPI to stabilise the extrusion process, to keep the product within specification. But the process became unstable over time, and the extruded tube part would fall out of specification. Line breaks would occur as adjustments were made to get the parts back in specification – which added to the cost of quality. Over 19 months, the extruder produced more than $36,000 in scrap material that could not be fed back into the process. Other problems included: nearly 2.5m rejected parts, at a cost of more than $50,000; an internal defect rate above 22%; and, external PPM (parts per million) of nearly 75,000. After evaluating several measurement systems, PPI
selected the Beta LaserMike measurement and control system from NDC, which comprised a DataPro 5000 process control and data management system, AccuScan 5000 Series multi-axis laser diameter and ovality gauge, and UltraScan ultrasonic wall thickness and eccentricity gauge. The UltraScan and AccuScan gauges, along with the
DataPro controller, work together to measure and control the critical dimensional aspects of the extrusion process such as tube diameter and tube wall thickness. The UltraScan DSP signal processor with ‘Snap’ technology provides automatic setup and calibration for quick and simple operation, says NDC. PPI has now reduced scrap by 98% and start-up time by 89%. At the same time, internal defect rate has been cut to 1.3%, while the company now has an external PPM of zero.
Medical materials Apollo Medical Extrusion is now offering single- and multi-lumen medical microtubing that is extruded from KetaSpire polyetheretherketone (Peek) from Solvay. The tubing is targeted at short-term medical implant
applications. Apollo already uses other advanced polymers including Zeniva Peek, AvaSpire polyarylether- ketone (PAEK) and Veradel HC polyethersulfone (PES). “Adding KetaSpire Peek was a natural response to
18 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | September 2016
the increasing requests we’ve received from healthcare customers for single-lumen microtubes extruded from this high-performance material,” said Jonathan Jurgaitis, senior process engineer at Apollo. “We have since discovered that demand for Peek extends to more complex, multi-lumen and stainless steel braided microtube designs as well.” Apollo fabricates a broad range of extruded micro-
tubes for catheter, endoscopy and laparoscopic instruments. With the addition of KetaSpire Peek, it now offers three new triple-lumen and 26 single-lumen microtubes made from the material. Solvay says that its materials offer advantages over competitive Peek grades – such as higher fatigue resistance, impact strength and ductility. At the MD&M West exhibition in the US earlier this
year, Teknor Apex showcased what it says is “the broadest range of compounds” for medical tubing applications – including its Apex flexible PVC, Flexalloy PVC elastomers and Medalist thermoplastic elasto- mers. The Medalist range was recently expanded beyond its 13 existing grades, with Medalist MD-16376 – an optically clear 76 Shore A compound designed for solvent bonding to connectors. There were also a number of materials on show at Chinaplas, reflecting China’s growing importance as a producer of medical products. Ineos Styrolution showcased a range of polymers for the healthcare segment, including intravenous tubes made of styrene- butadiene block copolymer resins (SBC/S-TPE) such as Styrolux and Styroflex. The grades feature the correct properties for flexible applications such as IV tubing, multi-lumen, and coextruded tubing, thanks to their
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