MEDICAL HEAT TREAT NEWS

A Heat Treater’s Primer on Getter Materials

 

Source: VAC AERO International

 

A common dilemma for operators of vacuum systems is to protect the integrity and maintain the life expectancy of components when the presence of unwanted gaseous contaminates threatens to destroy the sensitive materials in the processing environment. Getter materials are the MVPs that step up to the plate to protect work in a low-pressure vacuum environment.

Table 1 [1] Getter Capacity of Common Materials
The folks at VAC AERO International have provided a primer on getter materials which answers the heat treater’s questions, such as:

  • What is a getter?
  • What are the properties of getter materials?
  • What materials are best as getters for most heat-treating applications? What about for more sophisticated applications?
  • What are non-evaporative getters, and what role do they play?

“For heat treaters, getters are often considered a last resort to help keep parts ‘bright and clean’. In point of fact, they play an important role in successful vacuum processing of many highly sophisticated products and materials. As a result, we need to do a better job of understanding their role; how and where they can help.”

 

Photo Credit and caption: Titanium Discs used as a Getter Material in Brazing of Oxidation Sensitive Components – (Photograph Courtesy of California Brazing, Newark, CA)

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Heat Treatment Sector to Contribute to Medical Technology Research for Improved Health Care, Medical Devices

The Heat Treatment Pty Ltd. of Queensland, Australia, will contribute to a new research hub set to drive advances in Australia’s medical technology sector by developing cost-competitive technologies for the rapid production of medical devices.

Researchers from The University of Queensland’s Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology have teamed up with experts from industry, government, and academia to launch the Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing of Medical Devices (AMMD Hub).

UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj

With researchers based at Cook Medical Australia, the AMMD Hub will focus on the development of advanced materials, improved manufacturing technologies and flexible processing capabilities.

UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj said one of the key goals for this hub was to create better health outcomes for patients in Australia and around the globe.

“One of the intended outcomes is to reduce the time it takes to design, manufacture and supply custom-made medical devices such as endovascular stent grafts for patients with aortic aneurysm – an increasingly common condition that currently has post-rupture survival rates of only 10 to 20 per cent,” said Professor Høj. “It’s an exciting venture with lots of potential, and we look forward to celebrating the results.”

Professor Sue Thomas, Australian Research Council CEO

Researchers have already begun work in the area of lean manufacturing to improve the production times of custom-made devices to surgeons. Projects looking at adaptive automation systems, metallic biomaterials, and collaborative robotics are also underway.

“This Research Hub’s industry-focused research collaboration will develop new, advanced materials and processes that will not only lead to tangible health outcomes for Australians but also drive new technologies and skills that are vital for the competitiveness of Australia’s medical devices industry,” said Professor Sue Thomas, Australian Research Council CEO.

The AMMD Hub brings together researchers from UQ, The University of the Sunshine Coast, The University of Sydney and RMIT with industry partners including Cook Medical Australia Pty Ltd., Robert Bosch (Australia) Pty Ltd., Heat Treatment (Qld) Pty Ltd. and QMI Solutions Ltd.

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Economy Spring Plans Move to New Facility, Expanding Manufacturing Capacity

A Connecticut producer of precision metal components plans to relocate its manufacturing operations to a significantly larger facility in Southington, Connecticut in early 2019.

Economy Spring, whose current facility is pictured here, plans relocation to larger facility.

Economy Spring, an MW Industries company, announced that this expansion is fueled by the rapid growth of Economy Spring’s coiled springs, wire forms, and product assemblies sold to customers in medical and pharmaceutical applications. The new 216,000 square foot facility will be over twice the footprint of the existing Southington facility. Equipment will be moved in various stages during 2018 and 2019 with no expected operational impact to customers.

The company manufactures a broad range of medical and pharmaceutical products such as but not limited to surgical staples, hypodermic needles, and implantable titanium products.

“Economy Spring’s growth means we need more space to meet future customer demand. By selecting a facility just a mile down the road, we expect complete retention of our committed, technical, and highly experienced workforce,” explained Tim Thompson, senior vice president and general manager of Economy Spring. “Our transition plans include building finished goods inventory and communicating closely with customers to ensure a seamless transition.”

Photo credit: Pixabay

 

 

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Med Device Structural Accuracy Demands Advanced 3-D Process, Heat Treatment

Heat treatment plays a vital role in the accurate production of patient-specific joints and prostheses at a Lithuanian manufacturer and provider of 3D-printed patient-specific implants, endoprosthesis, and surgical guides and services in the EU, where researchers have leveraged the metrology scanning solutions of Nikon Metrology.

Baltic Orthoservice, based in Kaunas, combines the Nikon technologies of multi-sensor CCM and laser scanner with a micro-CT system to guarantee internal structural quality and geometric accuracy to achieve improved production of a wide variety of medical services. For manufacturing patient-specific implants, Baltic Orthoservice uses DMLS technology (direct metal laser sintering). The implants then undergo a variety of post-processing steps, including heat treatment, surface polishing and milling for screw holes.

The complete process and treatment solution allows for single-device design with “anatomically adapted surfaces. This eliminates the risk of instability and adapts the implant to the bone rather than the bone to the implant,” explained Milda Jokymaitytè, Clinical Engineer at Baltic Orthoservice. A major benefit of this procedure is that during surgery, there is no need to shape the bone in order to adapt it to the implant or use bone cement, meshes and augments to fill the bone defect. Patient-specific implants are designed using virtual anatomical bone models which are obtained from medical computed tomography (CT) scan of a patient.

Domantas Ozerenskis – Product Quality Manager at Ortho Baltic with the Nikon Metrology XT H 225.

“3D printing is a complicated technology and there is a big variation in processing parameters, so predicting the quality and geometry of printed objects is quite a challenge,” said Paulius Lukševičius, engineer of mechanics at Baltic Orthoservice. “Patient-specific implants are a bespoke treatment solution, which means that the surgery must be ‘pre-planned’ virtually so the implant can simply be put in place. To be able to execute the virtual plan, it is vital to be 100% sure that the implant geometry is exactly the same as the CAD model and that the holes are machined to high accuracy.”

 

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Swedish Group Invests in Titanium, Nickel-Based Metal Powders Production

Annika Roos, head of product area powder at Sandvik Materials Technology

A Swedish engineering group in metal-cutting and materials technology recently announced that it will invest about $24.5 million in a new plant for manufacturing of titanium and nickel fine metal powders near its raw material supply and additive manufacturing center in Sandviken, Sweden.

The group’s investment within Sandvik’s Materials Technology will complement its manufacture of broad stainless steel, nickel-based, and cobalt-chromium alloys in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Sandvik powders reach sectors throughout Europe, North America, and Asia through the Osprey™ brand.

The demand for metal powder for additive manufacturing is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Titanium and nickel-based alloys are key growth areas in the field of additive manufacturing, accounting for a significant portion of the metal powder market.

“This investment is an enabler for future growth and means that we are expanding our metal powder offering to include virtually all alloy groups of relevance today. In addition, it will also support the overall additive manufacturing business at Sandvik,” said Annika Roos, head of product area powder at Sandvik Materials Technology.

The facility is expected to be operational during 2020.

 

 

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Researchers Develop Bacteria-Unfriendly Stainless Steel for Medical Devices

 

Source: Phys.org

 

Antonio Nanci, study supervisor and anatomist in cell biology who runs the Laboratory for the Study of Calcified Tissues and Biomaterials

Surgical medicine has for years depended upon stainless steel for medical devices such coronary stents, hip-implant stems, and spinal-disc replacements, for a variety of surgical tools such as scalpels and forceps, and for operating tables. However, allergic and toxic reactions that trigger rejection by the body have driven researchers to develop a stainless steel component that will resist the buildup of harmful bacteria, among other flaws.

Scientists at Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Dental Medicine, along with a colleague from the Department of Chemistry, have discovered a way to improve the efficacy of stainless steel by changing its surface through the creation of a nanoscale network of pores — a process called nanocavitation.

“The beauty of it is its simplicity and capacity to simultaneously improve cellular response and limit bacterial expansion,” said the study’s supervisor, Antonio Nanci, an anatomist in cell biology who runs the Laboratory for the Study of Calcified Tissues and Biomaterials, adding, “Basically, we took the simple methods we developed for titanium in dental implants and adapted them to stainless steel, and it works very well. Stainless steel is very resistant to chemical treatment, and a lot of people have tried over the years to make the surface functional. It’s a tough material to deal with. But we’ve pierced the problem.”

Read more: “Solving the Problem of Surgical Stainless Steel”

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Medical Devices Manufacturer Expands Capabilities with Acquisition

A leading, Indiana-based materials manufacturer for medical devices recently acquired a titanium and specialty alloy company, adding alloy wire and bar drawing capabilities to their range of products and services for critical applications in the medical device industry.

Scott Glaze, Chairman and CEO of Fort Wayne Metals

Fort Wayne Metals, which provides components for both medical and non-medical critical applications, including aerospace and defense, industrial, and resistance wire industries, will expand with the acquisition of G&S Titanium and operate under the name G&S Bar and Wire, LLC.

“G&S is helping us increase our footprint even further, which will allow us to serve our customers better – for example by providing them with larger diameter materials,” said Scott Glaze, Chairman and CEO of Fort Wayne Metals.

The G&S operation in Wooster, Ohio, will remain in its current facilities. Fort Wayne Metals is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and has facilities in Columbia City, Indiana, and Castlebar, Ireland.

Toward the end of 2017, Fort Wayne Metals announced plans to expand operations in Indiana, to include heat treatment capabilities. Read more here: “Heat Treat Operations Included in Medical Devices Manufacturer Expansion”

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Czech Medical Instrument, Implants Manufacturer Opens Heat Treat Shop

Medin a.s., a Czech manufacturer of medical instruments and implants, recently unveiled its new heat treatment workshop in Nové Město na Moravě, which includes a vacuum oil quenching furnace — B55TH with oversized dimensions heating chamber with 900 x 1200 x 900 mm for a max load of 1200 kg — supplied by BMI. In order to treat large loads, this furnace was installed as an alternative to a vertical furnace or a pit-type furnace.

Medin’s workshop also houses a gas quenching furnace and a tempering furnace from other Tenova Group companies.

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Heat Treat Operations Included in Medical Devices Manufacturer Expansion

Eric J. Holcomb, Governor of Indiana

An Indiana-based manufacturer of wires for medical and non-medical markets recently announced plans to expand its operations, including in thermal processing, production, and maintenance.

Fort Wayne Metals, which was established in 1946 and now has locations in the U.S., Asia, Central America, and Europe, will invest $51.1 million to increase its Allen County operation, creating up to 337 new jobs by 2021. The project will include the construction of an addition to their corporate office building and revitalization of a 60,000-square-foot building, further bolstering the company’s production capacity for precision wire and wire-based components for the medical device industry and other non-medical critical applications, including aerospace and defense, industrial and resistance wire industries.

“Indiana has earned a reputation as one of the world’s leading medical device hubs,” Governor Eric J. Holcomb said. “Every day, Hoosiers are at work developing new life-saving solutions, and I’m excited to see that trend continue with the growth of our life sciences sector and industry-leading firms like Fort Wayne Metals.”

Troy Linder, CFO of Fort Wayne Metals

“As we continue to be innovative leaders of life-saving, high-quality material solutions, we are experiencing a global increase in demand,” said Troy Linder, chief financial officer of Fort Wayne Metals. “Our investment in facilities and people will help build the infrastructure necessary to meet this demand, and we are excited to be able to partner with the IEDC and Greater Fort Wayne Inc. to continue to expand our footprint in Fort Wayne.”

 

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Alpha Precision Group Emerges After Rebranding, Acquisitions

 

Source: Markets Insider

 

JoAnne Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer of APG

Alpha Precision Group (APG) recently announced acquisitions that will consolidate powder metal and metal injection molding operations under a single brand, providing integrated capabilities to the medical device, aerospace, and firearms markets.

Alpha Sintered Metals (ASM) of Ridgway, PA; Precision Compacted Components (PCC) of Wilcox, PA and St. Marys, PA; and Precision Made Products (PMP) of Brunswick, OH, now known as APG, will operate through two primary divisions:

1) APG Sintered Metals, which will consist of the powder metal operations of Alpha Sintered Metals and Precision Compacted Components, and

2) APG Metal Injection Molding, which will consist of the metal injection molding operations of Alpha Sintered Metals and Precision Made Products.

 

Read more: “Alpha Sintered Metals, Marks 50th Anniversary, Consolidates New Acquisitions With Re-Branding Effort, New Name: Alpha Precision Group

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