Company insight
Laser machines provide success for manufacturer
XL Precision Technologies is a leader in medical device and component manufacturing. With the help of Coherent, it recently assured the continuation of its growth by investing in more laser machines, as well as expanding their facilities in both the UK and USA.
edical device contract manufacturers can achieve market success either through superior product quality and performance, or by offering an important differentiating service/support. Based in Stockton-on- Tees, UK, XL Precision Technologies (XL- PT) pursues an “all of the above” strategy. The company manufactures precision micro components as well as complex tubular components and sub-assemblies. They offer design for manufacturing (DFM), prototyping and volume production solutions.
M XL-PT uses an impressive array of
laser-based machinery including systems for welding, cutting, drilling, 3D-printing and marking. To support a growing demand for their hypotubes and other precision products, XL-PT recently increased this machine portfolio, bringing their count of Coherent StarCut Tube cutting machines to a total of six. The superior cutting of the femtosecond lasers in their newest hybrid models has enabled XL-PT to significantly increase their nitinol work as well as eliminate most of the post-processing for stainless steel hypotubes.
Years of quality
Acquired by Rubicon Partners in 2008, XL Precision opened a US manufacturing facility in 2016. In 2021, both the UK and US facilities underwent major expansion, its Pennsylvania-based site almost doubling. XL-PT’s product roadmap focuses output on four key segments: endoscopy/ laparoscopy, cardiology/endocardiology, sports medicine/spinal care and advanced drug delivery systems. They also have extensive experience in specialty products for robotic surgeries. Products range from simple hypotubes to complex tubular sub-assemblies and 3D micro-machined
components, such as distal end catheter components and sub-assemblies, Class III implants, and cutting tools such as one and two-piece shaver designs. Batch sizes are similarly diverse, from single unit prototypes through to thousands of units per year. The range of tube diameters XL-PT handles spans from 0.25 to 13mm. Quality assurance is a byword with XL-PT, with managing director Tom Graham stating that: “Embedded in all of our development and production activities is our
The Coherent StarCut Tube cutting machine provides a precision and quality that allows manufacturers to apply it to multiple tasks.
ISO 13485 Quality Management System.”
Supporting customers with fast prototyping From 2018 to 2020, XL-PT targeted expanded sales and achieved 70% growth. The company believes two of the most important factors are their premium product quality and their rapid prototyping service.
Their rapid XLerator prototyping service is a powerful differentiator, where drawings and even raw design concepts are converted into delivered prototypes in days rather than weeks. Graham explains, “Speed and responsivity are everything in fast prototyping. We can match or beat anyone in this area because internally we have a suite of dedicated services, just for fast prototyping.”
StarCut Tube delivers versatility and efficiency XL-PT has more StarCut Tubes than any other laser machine type. And they recently acquired two more. “This
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
machine is just a great match for our growth strategy in multiple ways. The majority of our products start life as tubular blanks, but we also have products based on flat substrates. So, the versatility to cut more than just tubes is an obvious advantage for us,” says Graham. “It is also a machine that can deliver very high dimensional precision and fine cut quality. We selected the newest hybrid model for our latest purchase since the combination of a fibre and femtosecond laser enables us to efficiently perform the widest range of tasks and hence derive the best ROI.” In addition to these factors, they cite the ease of use and simple object- based programming as particularly advantageous for their fast-prototyping business. And lastly, they note that their latest machine is equipped with an optional automatic tube feeder, supporting unattended 24/7 operation for larger volume orders. ●
www.coherent.com 77
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