Tighter Tolerances Even tighter than the profit margins in this business
are the tolerances required for increasingly smaller, more detailed components.
“The medical industry is very innovative, and is coming to us with more and more complex components,” said George Bursac, general manager of Star CNC Machine Tool Corp. (Roslyn Heights, NY), a specialist in Swiss-style machin- ing solutions. “Over 50% of our total business is in medical manufacturing. We work with a number of well-established medical companies and, you know, they always come back for more. Parts are becoming smaller and more intricate, with a lot more detail on them—and you can’t make them any other way than by using a Swiss-style machine.” The type of parts Bursac is talking about include those
from implants, surgical instruments, cardiovascular compo- nents, dental equipment and more, he said. “Some of the parts they’re manufacturing now are sometimes so tiny that you cannot see them with your eyes alone—you have to use a jeweler’s loupe to see certain details on these parts.” Quality and repeatability are other requirements for ma- chining these ever-smaller components, according to Bursac, which is a reason for automating more of the procedures.
“Any handling of precision parts by people introduces variables that could create problems. The machine doing everything makes for a more accurate, repeatable process.”
“With smaller parts, a lot of people used to make different
fixtures to hold them. Today, we don’t have to do this on our machines. We make parts out of bar stock from scratch,” Bursac said. “You put a rod in the machine and out will come a finished part. All details are added right in the machine. The part is picked up with a subspindle and finished on the back end as well.” Bursac stresses the advantage of being able to start and finish a job on a single machine without human intervention. “Any handling of such precision parts by people, it introduces variables that could create problems. With the machine doing everything without a need to stop for fixturing and so on, it makes for a more accurate, repeatable process.” The ST-38 model from Star CNC is popular with the company’s medical customers, according to Bursac. It
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features the company’s multiturret technology and has the capacity to machine components ranging in size to 38 mm. The machine’s triple-turret design capitalizes on simultane- ous capabilities to reduce overall machining time, which is beneficial given the medical industry’s tight margins. The machine also offers deep-hole drilling on both the
front and rear ends of components, as well as high speed and universal control. To further improve accuracy and productivity, the machine is equipped with the company’s custom “Motion Control” feature. A flexible toolpost design enables the incor- poration of additional tools to increase functionality.
Tighter Cycle Times
The tight margins in medical manufacturing demand the fastest cycle times possible while maintaining qual- ity, affirms Mazak Corp. (Florence, KY) VP Rick Ware. For medical shops making a range of precision parts, that calls for a five-axis system with speed, accuracy and flex- ibility, he said.
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