Medical Devices - Microcutting
Within the medical field, laser use is divided between those used in direct patient therapies (such as ophthalmic and diagnostic procedures) and those used to manufacture medical devices such as implantables (pacemakers, radioactive cancer treatment "seeds", stents etc.) and tools (aneurysm clamps, bone saws, biopsy knives etc.). Laser microcutting is a leading technology for the manufacture of surgical instruments and medical implants.
Medical devices are generally quite small for two basic reasons, they often must fit into small areas, or they are made of expensive materials and minimizing their size is cost- effective. Lasers, which can work in areas that require tolerance of only several microns, are an ideal solution for small, costly devices. Probably the most demanding application for micro- cutting in the medical device industry is the cutting of stents. A stent is a small, lattice-shaped, metal tube that is inserted permanently into an artery. The stent helps hold open an artery so that blood can flow through it. Stents are cylindrical metal scaffolds that are inserted inside a diseased coronary artery to restore adequate blood flow. The materials used for stents may be 316L stainless steel or nickel- titanium alloys (shape memory alloys). The typical tube diameters are between 1 and 10mm, with a wall thickness of approx. 100um. The key requirement is a small kerf width (20-30um) and this requires high beam quality and very good laser power stability. The laser cut must have a very good surface quality with very little heat affected zone and no dross. Photograph shows an SEM micrograph of a typical stent after cutting and cleaning in an ultrasonic bath. With the JK Fiber Laser range, dross- free cuts (20um width) can be achieved with very high contour accuracy (< 5um). Typical cutting speed for 0.5mm thick 316L stainless steel with single mode laser output is 500mm/min.
Although stents are currently the dominant laser microcutting application in the medical industry, recent progress in needle cutting shows that there is a huge potential for further laser adapted designs.
Typical lasers that have been used for this application
JK125P, JK300P & JK300HP
For Fiber-Delivered Cutting, Welding, Heat Treating
JK Fiber Laser
JK Fibers Lasers for fine Cutting and Welding
Please call us to discuss lasers for your specific application
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