ACHB Excels at Precision Medical Device Machining
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ACHB specializes in ISO 13485-certified precision medical device machining for Class I, II, and III devices with complex, biocompatible components that demand extreme accuracy and consistency.
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Advanced machining equipment, including 5-axis CNC milling and EDM, enables the creation of intricate geometries, thin walls, and tight internal radii ideal for surgical tools, implants, and robotic-assisted devices.
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ACHB is well-versed in FDA-approved materials such as titanium, surgical stainless steel, polypropylene, and polyethylene with high repeatability and ultra-tight tolerances (down to +0.0001").
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Precision machining supports modern healthcare by enabling device miniaturization, improved performance, better patient comfort, and safer surgical outcomes.
Precision medical device machining requires a commitment to quality standards, tight tolerances, and other considerations, given the small and complex nature of these parts. Precision machining solutions are one method that medical device manufacturers can use to consistently deliver high-quality parts. ACHB provides engineering support, material expertise, and production capabilities for everything from early design through fully scaled manufacturing of these challenging medical devices.
Healthcare professionals ranging from primary care physicians to highly-trained surgeons rely on their medical knowledge to deliver exceptional care to patients around the world, with the help of expertly manufactured medical devices. As the average age of the population and life expectancies increase, manufacturers are challenged to keep pace with the rising demand for improvements to the quality of care and quality of life.
What is precision machining?
Precision machining for medical devices is a subtractive manufacturing process used to remove unwanted material and create a complex final shape. Because of the final application, this process must be completed with a level of accuracy beyond the capabilities of most machine shops. It is crucial not only for making production parts to exceptionally tight tolerances, but also for creating the machine tools and equipment necessary to achieve those tolerances.
How Precision Machining Differs From Traditional Machining
Precision machining is similar to traditional machining, but with far tighter dimensional tolerances specified by customers. With modernized, advanced machining equipment at ACHB, parts can be machined to tolerances as small as +0.0001”. While the process still relies on CAD and CAM software, what makes precision machining possible is the sophistication of the tools, machines, and programming involved.
Why the Right Equipment and Expertise Matter
To meet assigned tolerances, manufacturers must ensure that their tools and machines are capable of delivering such accuracy. With the right equipment, a well-developed CNC program, and a skilled operator, precision parts can be produced with consistency, repeatability, and little to no scrap. For medical device manufacturing, this level of precision ensures that small components fit together exactly as intended while meeting stringent customer specifications and performance expectations.
Why the Right Equipment and Expertise Matter
To meet assigned tolerances, manufacturers must ensure that their tools and machines are capable of delivering such accuracy. With the right equipment, a well-developed CNC program, and a skilled operator, precision parts can be produced with consistency, repeatability, and little to no scrap. For medical device manufacturing, this level of precision ensures that small components fit together exactly as intended while meeting stringent customer specifications and performance expectations.
Why ACHB is a Perfect Precision Medical Machining Partner
From being able to machine a variety of materials to developing custom devices for a perfect fit, here are some of the reasons ACHB is the ideal partner for precision medical device machining projects:
Precision Devices for Precise Applications
Modern medical device manufacturing relies heavily on advanced equipment like 5-axis milling machines and electrical discharge machining (EDM), which make the precision machining of complex components possible.
5-Axis Milling for Complex, Accurate Cuts
5-axis milling machines allow manufacturers to use shorter cutting tools, which enables higher cutting speeds, less tool chatter, and shorter cycle times. These machines also require less fixture preparation and allow tools to cut intricate shapes with exceptional ease, accuracy, and precision.
EDM for Hard-to-Machine Materials
EDM is typically used for parts and materials that are difficult or impossible to machine with conventional tools, such as titanium. In short, EDM uses an electrically charged wire or electrode to remove material without contacting the workpiece. This non-contact process:
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Produces highly precise surface finishes ideal for medical devices
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Reaches depths and geometries not achievable with traditional tools
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Allows thin walls and sharp internal radii to be manufactured with ease
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Gives designers greater freedom to optimize wall thickness and geometry
Enabling Innovation in Medical Devices
With precision machining, precise personalized prosthetic limbs and complex components for robot-assisted surgery can be created with ease, which would have been impossible only a few years ago. ACHB is proud to provide a collaborative approach to medical device machining and has over twenty years of experience working with medical professionals to develop and machine innovative medical devices.
Diverse Material Knowledge & Expertise
In the United States, the materials used in medical settings must adhere to strict standards set forth by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure their compatibility with the human body, ability to be sterilized, and durability. Medical products made from these medical-grade materials are evaluated for the potential risk they pose to patients. Whether these parts, like a hip joint, are implanted permanently into a patient’s body or implanted temporarily through a needle, they must adhere to the applicable FDA standards to ensure patient safety.
Commonly used biocompatible materials include medical (surgical) grade stainless steel and titanium, as well as plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene. These materials are often used alone or in combination to make a range of devices from joint implants and surgical tools to hospital beds and wheelchairs.
With precision machining, stainless steel and titanium - two materials that are difficult to machine - can be used to create parts with intricate and detailed shapes and sizes for any medical application. In fact, it is the advancements in precision machining that have made the use of biocompatible metals for implants possible in the first place. Precision machining is the go-to solution for manufacturing critical medical parts, due to the precise and smooth surfaces it can provide on biocompatible materials in extremely challenging applications.
Tight Tolerance Medical Device Machining
Another way that precision machining supports medical device manufacturing is its ability to create miniature devices built to tight tolerances. As a result of advancements in precision machining, devices such as insulin pumps and pacemakers can now be made with a smaller footprint while retaining full functionality.
Precision machining has made the use of robotics and lasers commonplace in surgery. The manufacture of the small components that go into these devices has revolutionized healthcare and will only continue to allow the creation of more innovative products for patient care.
Previously, such devices as implantable defibrillators were too large and inconvenient to be practical. With the miniaturization made possible by precision machining, external devices like insulin pumps, and internal devices like pacemakers, are now more comfortable and present little impediment to the wearer’s mobility - they can live normal lives.
Precision Medical Device Machining Quotes
Precision medical device machining has revolutionized manufacturing in recent years, and allowed engineers and designers to advance life-saving capabilities, device longevity, and reduce device size. This, in turn, makes implanted devices more comfortable for patients and makes robotic surgical procedures safe and more effective. Advancements in precision machining have catalyzed innovation and growth in the medical industry and will continue to do so in the future to improve the quality of life.
Contact an ACHB representative today to discuss your medical device manufacturing needs.
