The World Health Organization reports the geriatric population will reach 1.5 billion by 2050; 16% of the total world population – and as chronic and lifestyle disease increases, demand for medical devices, advanced technology grows.
The global medical technology (medtech) market is estimated to reach $409.5 billion by 2023 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5%, according to ResearchandMarkets’ forecast. If you are looking for more opportunity, Evaluate Medtech’s analysts suggest the global medical device market will grow at 5.6% CAGR to reach $595 billion by 2024. Medical device manufacturing remains a strong market, driven by technological developments, an aging population, and increases in chronic and lifestyle diseases – trends that expand healthcare spending.
The U.S., the world’s largest medical device market, represents about 40% of the global industry with exports surpassing $41 billion, according to numbers from SelectUSA, a U.S Department of Commerce program.
However, a strong medtech sector can also highlight challenges original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) face. Reimbursement continues to shift to a value-based, positive-outcome model, so new medical technology must deliver improved outcomes at the same cost, or less, than what’s currently available in the market. Medtech must be produced better, safer, faster, and more economically to have the best chance for market acceptance, so early-stage collaboration requires a design for manufacturability (DFM) approach. Enabling proactive designing of products to optimize manufacturing: machining, fabrication, assembly, test, procurement, shipping, delivery, service, and repair, DFM addresses aspects that will deliver the best cost, quality, reliability, regulatory compliance, safety, time-to-market, and customer satisfaction.
CHANGING ROLES
OEMs are also consolidating suppliers, factories, and equipment, becoming leaner while CMOs grow.
Estimates from Visiongain show the CMO market will reach $316 billion by 2023, a 10.5% CAGR – as they deliver everything from design and added manufacturing capacity to final assembly, packaging, and shipping.
CMOs are investing more in smart manufacturing and advanced technologies – robotics, tooling, automation, hybrid machine tools, 3D printing, advanced analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) – to produce everything from microscopic medical implants to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
In the Fall 2018 Medical Device Contract Manufacturing Update, from global advisory firm Duff & Phelps LLC, analysts note that, “Major medical device OEMs have combined complementary skills to gain greater market share. OEMs are choosing to outsource technical and production services to trusted partners to reduce their manufacturing footprint… As a result of OEMs buying other OEMs, CMOs have followed the broader industry trend and consolidated to expand capabilities.” (See CMO's Consolidation sidebar below.)
TECHNOLOGY, TOOLING
Through November, manufacturing technology orders hit $5 billion, up 22% for the same 11 months of 2017.
“Orders in the third quarter were amazing and no one expected that pace to continue into the last three months of 2018,” says Doug Woods, president, AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology.
Woods says AMT members are confident growth will continue with medical equipment demand from the graying population, the aerospace industry ramping up to reduce backlogs, and the auto sector driving investment deeper into the supply chain.
U.S. cutting-tool sector growth has been about 1.5% annually, according to McKinsey & Co., with more than 200 mergers and acquisitions of cutting-tool companies worth more than $4 billion in value since 2000. With a total available market of about $5 billion – the most value coming from milling (about 38%) and hole making (about 20%) – indexable tools are growing at a higher rate than solid tools, both carbide and non-carbide. Demand within the medical sector will remain stable; vendors looking for protection against economic turmoil will find a haven in surgical and orthopedic cutting tools, McKinsey research predicts.
Stable news with cutting tools correlates to the toolholder market forecast for growth at a steady rate, posting a 5.61% CAGR through 2022. Increasing automation is driving demand for advanced toolholders, according to analysts at Technavio. Investment examples include Sandvik AB’s Sandvik Coromant Centre that facilitates applications, machining, productivity, and research in manufacturing, and similar investments made by Ceratizit Group.
In the Deloitte Consulting’s 2019 Industrial Manufacturing Outlook, Vice Chairman Paul Wellener projects, based on the Oxford Economic Model, that final 2018 manufacturing GDP will likely grow 3% from 2017, “the highest annual growth levels recorded since 2010.”
Manufacturing GDP should increase by 3.7% in 2019, Wellener notes, explaining the latest Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey where optimism reached 93.9%, the highest yearly average ever recorded. Analysis by the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) indicates the U.S. manufacturing sector is likely to regain output levels lost during the Great Recession.
Wellener cautions that the manufacturing industry is dealing with one of the tightest labor markets in history, with high job-opening levels – more than 400,000 since January 2018 – and historic low unemployment rates.
Wellener’s conclusion – 2019 will seperate digital leaders from the followers.
“Digital technologies can be applied to product development and innovation through 3D prototyping and digital twins. Artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive technologies can foster growth in the customer lifecycle and create exceptional experiences. And automation can deliver measurable outcomes,” Wellener says. “Nearly half of manufacturers (49%) are using a form of automation in their business, with plans to increase its use… Industrial companies have an opportunity to flip the switch on productivity with the right strategy and approach.”
About the author: Elizabeth Engler Modic is editor of TMD. She can be reached at emodic@gie.net or 216.393.0264.
Global medical device industry to 2024
Departments - Medical Infographic
Medtech industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% to $595 billion by 2024.
Manufacturing, a major driver of economic growth in the U.S. that generated more than 11% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017; showing its strength, but manufacturers still struggle to fill job vacancies. Recruitment and staffing agency Aerotek conducted a survey, “Help Wanted: The Manufacturing Hiring Dilemma,” which looks at current trends in manufacturing and the challenges in hiring skilled labor.
One challenge is a shallow labor pool thinning further as industries outside of manufacturing – but that compete for the same talent – are offering higher wages. Also, the growing role of automation in advanced manufacturing has employers looking for employees with technical skill sets and experience in:
Mechanical, electrical engineering
Computerized systems
Machine programming
Manufacturing blueprints
Automated systems
Hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical systems
With the global medical technology market forecast to reach close to $600 billion by 2024 (see cover story, pg. 22), market demand is increasing the need for manufacturing talent. While the survey looks at a range of manufacturing sectors and recruiting challenges, it identifies a talent pipeline that will be crucial to filling job vacancies in manufacturing: women, military veterans, and future generations.
According to a Deloitte study on females in manufacturing, women totaled about 47% of the U.S. labor force in 2016 yet only 29% of the manufacturing workforce; but that is changing. In 2015 only 24% of women were ready to encourage their daughter or female family member to pursue a career in manufacturing; in 2017 it was up to 47%.
Women who think the school system encourages female students to pursue a career in manufacturing more than doubled from 12% in 2015 to 29% in 2017.
With 20,000 service members transitioning out of the military each year, Dave Majerowicz, Aerotek’s director of business development and an Air Force veteran says that former military members are an attractive pool of candidates because of shared characteristics such as being used to working in a team environment, knowing they must rely on each other, and realizing everyone must play a part.
Increasing young people’s exposure to real-world manufacturing can help develop the next generation of workers. A Deloitte/Manufacturing Institute survey found that after attending MFG DAY, 84% were more convinced that manufacturing provided interesting and rewarding careers and 64% were more motivated to pursue a career in manufacturing. A survey from American Staffing Association Workforce Monitor found that experiential learning plays a large part in attracting students to manufacturing; 62% of Americans agree that apprenticeships and vocational opportunities make people more employable.
Industrial part cleaning must achieve cleanliness standards required for high-quality downstream processes – coating, adhesive bonding, welding, curing – in a reliable, cost-efficient, resource-saving manner. Success depends on using suitable chemicals, equipment, and process technology.
When choosing a cleaning fluid, the chemical principle like-dissolves-like can be a guide.
Aqueous detergents are typically employed for water-based (polar) contaminants such as aqueous coolant and lubricant emulsions, salts, abrasion residue, and other solid matter. To make sure the medium will not attack the product surface, test the material compatibility and results through a cleaning trial.
For mineral oil-based (non-polar) contaminants such as machining oils, greases, waxes, and resins, a solvent will normally be used. Once the oil is removed, chips and particles on the product will lose their adhesion to the surface and are eliminated via injection flood washing or ultrasound.
Depending on the contamination being removed, the solvent will be a non-halogenated hydrocarbon, a chlorinated hydrocarbon, or a modified alcohol; the latter media have lipophilic and hydrophilic properties that can remove non-polar and, to a certain extent, polar contaminants.
Solvents exhibit a high degree of material compatibility and do not cause oxidation, discoloration, dulling, or other impairment of the part during cleaning treatment. Another advantage of solvents is quick and complete drying, even in difficult areas such as blind holes and undercuts.
EcoCcore
PHOTO COURTESY OF ECOCLEAN,INC.
Cleaning solutions
Fully enclosed solvent-based cleaning systems from Ecoclean Inc., Southfield, Michigan, carry fluid in a closed circuit. Integrated distillation and filtration systems continuously automate solvent reconditioning, nearly eliminating operator exposure to the solvent, while delivering consistent cleaning quality and long solvent life.
The EcoCcore cleaning system works under a full vacuum to clean large quantities of parts using two flood tanks, heat recovery, full-flow, and bypass filtration. The system can use non-halogenated hydrocarbons or modified alcohols (polar solvents) easily changing from one solvent to another.
The EcoCcompact’s two flood tanks use a space-saving, modular configuration, to clean using polar solvents or non-halogenated hydrocarbons. Operating under full vacuum, the unit supports high-speed degreasing, intermediate cleaning, and specification-compliant final cleaning.
The EcoCduty features a solvent-based large-chamber cleaning system and uses hydrocarbons or polar solvents and operates under full vacuum in a modular design adaptable to shop needs. Configured as a vapor-degreaser, the system is also available with one or two stainless steel flood tanks, and vacuum drying is standard.
A compact solution, for small- or large-scale operations, the Minio 85C, delivers immersion, steam degreasing, and vacuum drying with non-halogenated hydrocarbon media, either between or downstream from production processes.
When considering investment in a part cleaning system, review the range of available technology to find the system that fits your part-cleaning challenges.
The 325linear 5-axis CNC grinder now has extended X- and Y-axis movement plus two auxiliary slides for workpiece clamping and improved grinding wheel guidance across the entire machining envelope. It features a universal rotation A-axis with a 0.0001º resolution, high pitch accuracy, and the X-, Y-, and Z-axis resolution is maintained at <0.1µm. The swiveling C-axis for the grinding head has a 225º range of motion and resolution accuracy of <0.0001°.
The primary motor spindle operates up to 12,000rpm with 15kW max. drive output, while the grinding spindle option affords a max. speed of 24,000rpm. Linear axis travel on the machine is 480mm x 250mm x 275mm.
The machine is offered with the Schütte Integrated Grinding Software (SIGSpro), enabling users to assign clamping options for each grinding operation performed. When the support and tool guidance system are used, preset distances from the grinding wheel to the workpiece can be defined and held constant. In the 3D mode, all cycle steps can be simulated, controlled, and optimized for exact estimating, collision avoidance, and external workstation integration with the other workpieces.
Motion control is maintained on a Siemens 840D sl CNC with compatible drive technology.
Air rest buttons provide pneumatic position control for detecting proper workpiece loading on a machining fixture. The modular units consist of a threaded body installed in a fixture, holding a precision floating plunger with a reamed hole – available in three diameters – that accepts any height of Carr Lane’s standard press-fit-type rest buttons. Proper placement of a workpiece on the air rest button assembly causes the plunger to fully retract into the body, sealing off air flow and increasing the overall pressure of the system. Pressure value can be read using an analog or digital pressure sensor which can be tied into a PLC or control system.
Designed for small and deep threads applications, the MTSB mini mill-thread’s coolant bores remove chips when using high-pressure coolant. Constructed of solid carbide with advanced physical vapor deposition (PVD) triple coating, more flutes shorten cycle times and, combined with coolant use, improve tool life. Delivering high machining parameters and designed for deep thread-milling operations, the MTSB can be used on operations demanding increased performance and higher thread quality. Thread sizes range from M1.2 to M16 and 0-80 to 7/16-20UNF.
