Top Applications of CNC Machining in the Medical Industry

CNC machining has had a positive impact on both manufacturing industries and consumers’ lives through the production of innovative, and in some cases, life-saving products. While CNC machining has seen use in the aerospace and defense industry for quite a while, the medical industry only began to broadly implement this manufacturing process relatively recently. With CNC machining, medical manufacturers can take advantage of the efficiency, automation, precision, and accuracy that it provides, and can produce groundbreaking, complex devices with ease. Now, CNC machining is a key process for the medical device industry. This article will explore four applications of CNC machining in the medical industry today.

1. Surgical and dentistry instruments

Precision and smooth surface finishes are critically important in manufacturing medical instruments and devices. Patients wouldn’t want a rusty scalpel to be used on them during surgery or a crown that doesn’t fit correctly over a tooth. Such scenarios could lead to discomfort and possibly bodily harm for patients. Few manufacturing processes, though, can obtain the same level of precision and accuracy in these parts as CNC machining. That’s why its use in producing medical devices—including surgical and dentistry instruments—is now so widespread in the industry.

With the right equipment, parts can be machined with tolerances as small as +0.0002”. This level of precision is especially critical when machining minimally invasive surgical tools. It is also vital for items like needles or cannulas for medical practices such as blood transfusions or biopsies, for which the level of precision is critically related to the volume of material delivered or retrieved. After machining, parts can undergo several post-processing and surface finishing processes to obtain desired surface finishes. No matter the precision or surface finish required on a surgical or dentistry instrument, CNC machining offers a technique that can achieve it.

2. Testing and analysis components

CNC machining are also commonly used for components in a variety of testing and analysis systems like those found in separation science (chromatography), DNA sequencing, and medical diagnostics. Unlike surgical instruments (which must be machined with a biocompatible material), testing and analysis components can be machined from any suitable material since direct contact is not made between the component and the human body. Regardless, standards established by several regulatory organizations mean that the manufacture of testing and analysis components for medical purposes is still heavily controlled and supervised.

Luckily, highly precise components for testing and analysis systems that comply with federal regulations can easily and consistently be made by CNC machining. While many components can be made with standard 3-axis mills and CNC lathes, 5-axis milling machines and swiss-head lathes can be even more efficient. When using standard 3-axis mills or CNC lathes, parts may require multiple setups and machining processes which can be detrimental to productivity. With 5-axis milling, even parts with complex geometries can often be machined in one operation; and with swiss-head lathes, manufacturers can bring tools closer to the workpiece—which effectively reduces both tool and workpiece deflection and chatter.

3. Components for electronic medical equipment

Before, many procedures left large and sometimes unsightly scars on patients. Some medical devices were also too large and inconvenient for people to use, limiting the availability of treatments for frequent, repetitive, or chronic problems to centralized medical facilities. Advancements in CNC machining, however, have made minimally invasive surgery a much more viable option. This has enabled shorter in-patient hospital stays and home use and management of many medical devices which can now be made small enough so that they do not interfere with the end-user mobility or comfort. Devices like tiny cameras, instruments, and sensors — all key parts of robotic surgical systems — can be made with CNC machining.

Implantable medical devices that are intended for long-term use have benefited from the kind of miniaturization that can be accomplished with precision CNC machining. Examples include:

• Pacemakers
• Implantable drug delivery systems
• External insulin pumps

While CNC machining can be used for advanced products like the ones mentioned, it can also be used for basic components like buttons, switches, housings, and casings within electronic medical equipment like MRI scanners, X-ray machines, or heart rate monitors.

4. Micromachining

As the name implies, micromachining is the manufacture of small and minute medical parts. Micromachining is mostly used in the fabrication of implantable devices like pacemakers, surgical instruments, medical testing and analysis systems, and drug-delivering technology. Oftentimes, these devices are highly sophisticated with complex designs in spite of their small sizes. If the device is to be implanted into a patient, then the complexity of the part increases further since these types of parts must be biocompatible. Biocompatible materials that can be machined include:

• Titanium
• Stainless steel
• PEEK (Polyether ether ketone)
• PE (Polyethylene)

It is for these exact reasons, however, that CNC machining is a perfect fit. Advancements made in computer-aided design (CAD), and computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) have made such designs and parts possible. They have, consequently, improved the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of patients through a dramatic improvement in the fit, function, and comfort of ultra-precise machined medical parts. CNC machining will accommodate these high levels of precision and can fabricate parts with features well below 50 microns. Micromachining is one-way manufacturers can harness the power of CNC machining to provide high-quality medical solutions to customers and patients.

Medical CNC machining with ACHB

CNC machining of medical devices is not much different from the machining of other parts — it still requires cutting, deburring, grinding, and other processes. Yet the benefits it can provide to patients, end-users, and even medical professionals, can’t be overstated. It has allowed designers the ability to create more precise and personalized devices that can dramatically improve patient care and well-being. The use of CNC machining in the medical device industry will only continue to grow in the future. Contact an ACHB representative today to discuss your medical device manufacturing needs.