TMD's medical device manufacturing conference delivers technology information from the experts
More than 100 participants attended the first TMD Medical Device Manufacturing Conference in Warsaw, IN., this past October. And based on the comments received from attendees, it surpassed all expectations in terms of providing relevant information on new technology as well as valuable one-on-one time with the industry experts presenting the data.
Comments heard through the course of the one-day conference echoed a common theme for more of the same. For example, some of the comments heard by the TMD staff included the following: "It's refreshing to see a trade publication like Today's Medical Developments think outside the box and put together a medical device manufacturing conference focused purely on manufacturers and suppliers to the medical device market." "Our company attends regional and national manufacturing shows with the intent of becoming more productive and ultimately more competitive, only to find these shows are geared more toward the automotive and aerospace industries, thanks TMD;" We are in need of more conferences like this, dedicated solely to the medical manufacturing sector;" "After listening to the presentations, I'm convinced our current processes can be upgraded to cut costs, improve quality, and deliver products on-time."
Being in the medical device manufacturing market, TMD anticipates that you will find the following abstracts of value:
Grinding of Surgical Burs, Reamers and Taps: Orthopedic & Cranial Cutting Tools
An examination of the ways in which such grinding can be accomplished with particular focus on milling/turning, cylindrical grinding/centerless grinding or tool grinding. Many types of tools and 3D simulations were shown, each demonstrating the many variations and styles of tools that can be ground using CNC tool grinding.
CNC tool grinding offers unique features including rotational tool axis, tool support and precision holding collet. Additional benefits are double ended grinding spindles, and pick-and-place loaders with vertical stacking to 12-inch lengths.
Eric Schwarzenbach is President of Rollomatic. Educated in Switzerland, he worked for a variety of manufacturers of tool grinding machines in England, Denmark and Switzerland, covering territories as diverse as England, Germany and Europe as well as the Far East before joining Rollomatic in 1997.
Manufacturing Economics
In times of economic challenges, when manufacturing is under constant pressure to improve profitability, those empowered to ensure positive returns are struggling with issues of price versus cost.
Spending less today doesn't mean spending less tomorrow. There are pitfalls when all emphasis is placed solely on purchase prices. Reduced tooling prices may result in initial cost reduction, but that result is negligible when compared to profound reductions made by enhancing productivity.
Partnering for long term cost reduction through the Productivity Improvement Program (PIP) can improve overall productivity, increase manufacturing efficiency and reduce production costs.
Brian Norris is the Director of Business Development at Sandvik Coromant USA, based in Fair Lawn, NJ. He has worked in a variety of sales, marketing and management positions throughout his 19 years in the metal cutting business.
Automation in Medical Applications
There is more to efficient shop production than simply owning the right machine. We take two things into consideration when working with customers.
The first is knowledgeable technical assistance in matching a machine tool to the particular application, and , if needed, enhancing those machines to meet the most difficult requirements.
The second is complete, comprehensive technical support. In addition to six regional technical centers, the company has a national network of full service machine tool dealers for sales, support and service.
John Moldenhauer is technical manager of the EDM division of Methods Machine Tool Inc. He has 25 year of experience in the machine tool business.
Innovative Cutting Tools- The Next Level
Iscar Metals brings depth of knowledge and years of experience working at an international level with medical implant, fracture repair and instrumentation companies that are today's industry leaders. Among the newest developments detailed are PentaCut, with 5 corners per insert, latest sub-micron carbide technology, and broad product size offering for parting off, grooving and recessing.
Stephen R. Newby began his metalworking career in production shop in Indianapolis and has moved upward through a variety of jobs to being the Area Manager for Iscar Metal in the Ohio Valley West Region with the medical industry as a key account focus.
Accessing Hidden Capacity in Medical Manufacturing
The medical device industry is facing cost pressures from Health Management Organizations (HMO) and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO). Many manufacturers are turning to lean manufacturing or other continuous improvement methodologies in search of the "Perfect Process," and data collection is essential to determine root causes and to ensure processes remain fixed permanently.
This presentation discusses data collection in the machine tool environment and how to get the best understanding of manufacturing inefficiencies.
Mark Brownhill has 30 years of experience in manufacturing, engineering and product management. His background in process improvement and product development are leveraged in his current position at GE Fanuc as Product Manager for Machine Tool Productivity Solutions.
Advanced Cleaning and Passivation for Medical Devices
Innovative processes, and state-of-the-art parts cleaning systems is what Ransohoff Inc. provides its medical and pharmaceutical customers.
As technology evolves and customer needs change, the company brings together technology and engineering to provide optimum cleaning solutions for its customers.
Ransohoff performs rigorous testing to derive the proper cleaning cycle and processes for specific applications. Its Technology Center employs cutting edge Blackstone Ney Ultrasonics, hydro deburr, spray washers and Immerso-Jet cleaning
technologies. In addition, it uses high-pressure blow off and the latest in drying technology.
William J. Chiarella is Sales/Product Manager for Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics in its Industrial Cleaning Division. He received his degree in chemistry and business from Boston University. Hank Beeler is a Regional Sales Manager for Ransohoff. Joining the company in 1994, he has been involved with cleaning and parts washing for more than 25 years, the last five years of which he has focused on the Medical Industry.
Improved Medical Manufacturing with CAM Technology
Medical manufacturing uses a broad range of machining configurations: 2- and 3-axis Milling; 2-axis Turning; 4th- and 5th-axis rotary Milling; Multi-Task Machining (MT); 4- and 5-axis Simultaneous Milling; and Wire-EDM.
This wide range of machining processes, machine tool configurations, material types, and diverse requirements drives the selection of a CAM system appropriate for medical manufacturing. Integrated process simulation allows potentially costly mistakes to be identified before machining.
Native CAD formats supported are: AutoCAD DXF/DWG, Autodesk Inventor; CATIA V4 and V%, Pro/ENGINEER, Solid Edge and SolidWorks.
Interoperability: Medical manufacturing is extremely diverse. Part programming requires a system that is both powerful and simple to use. It also requires accuracy and flexibility to handle the wide range of parts. GibbsCAM meets these requirements.
Vic Baker is Gibbs Midwest Distribution Manager. He began as an apprentice miller and turner in the U.K., became a NC/CNC programmer and was President of NC Graphics USA.
Maximizing Productivity
The presentation dealt specifically with existing and prospective manufacturers of femoral knee implants. A variety of technology solutions and processing methods presented included a discussion of the trade-offs between them. Particular attention was given to pros and cons of parallel versus serial processing.
Topics included CAD/CAM programming and integration into 5-axis grinders, quick change work-holding, quick-change wheel packs and virtual simulation.
A modular design philosophy enables Huffman to offer a variety of machine platforms that can be configured to meet individual manufacturer's needs. Huffman employs innovative technologies with a disciplined Collaborative Process Development approach.
David Dreschler is Vice President of Marketing for Huffman Corp. and COO of Huffman Technologies. During his 20-year career at Huffman, he has been involved with programming, applications development, sales and marketing.
Cryogenic Machining -- A Viable Alternative For Difficult-to-Machine Materials
Industrial manufacturers today are faced with a difficult question --- how to economically machine work materials with increasingly higher hardness and toughness. The need for higher productivity with these materials has forced manufacturers to implement process changes (e.g. grinding to hard turning) or move towards near-net shape manufacturing (wrought to powder metals).
These changes have resulted in significantly higher heat generation at the cutting edge and have exposed the limitations of current cooling techniques. Cryogenic machining is an environmentally friendly process, involving the use of liquid nitrogen (LIN) cooling during machining.
More efficient cooling with LIN has resulted in significant productivity gains during machining, allowing manufacturers to increase cutting speeds by 50 - 200%. In addition, significant benefits in part quality metrics have been observed.
Dr. Ranajit Ghosh has been involved with industrial research in machining for nearly ten years. He is currently the technical lead for cryogenic machining at Air Products and Chemicals.
Engineered Solutions for Productivity
The combined resources of Star Cutter Co. and Samputensili America - suppliers of cutting tools, wear resistance coating, CNC Tool and Cutter Grinder and tool management- have served a variety of manufacturing sectors. While primary support and services have been to suppliers to the automotive, agricultural, aerospace and off road industries. That experience gained is now available to the medical industry.
Solutions don't come in the form of a "silver bullet," but in common denominators. A first step is analysis of a company's various manufacturing processes with a view from above and without manpower in place. If changes are necessary, there are machine tool feature, accessories and software available to make the change-over process a routine matter rather than a dreaded experience.
Of greatest importance is the understanding that achieving success comes through integration of available system, identifying bottle necks and being willing to ask for solutions.
Ron Peruski is Product Manager of the Star-SU Machine Tool Division. In that capacity, his responsibilities include application review, proposal preparation and new product and accessory development.
CAD-CAM Technology for Medical Components
Many medical components contain free form surfaces that need to be machined. Today, this is done by using manual processes, robots or CNC machines in different constellations.
Requirements in modern implant production are highest quality at most possible efficiency. Here there is great potential for a closed manufacturing chain on a single production cell. All operations in this chain can be programmed by a single CAD-CAM system.
Under these conditions turning a blank into a finished workpiece is simple and efficient. NC technology in multiple axis is the base of this procedure. It provides a superior level of accuracy of the component and is the upcoming standard of the future.
Jorg Strohmann is a Mechanical Engineer in R& D and Development at Schutte gmbh. He is a graduate of Germany's RWTH University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Parts Complete: Combining Techniques on a Single Machine
The Tornos DECO line of CNC single- and multispindles combine the productivity benefits of cam driven machines with the flexibility of CNC, providing customers with the fastest Swiss type automatics in the industry.
Equipment offered includes: DECO 2000 Swiss-type automatics; MultiDECO multispindles; ESCO coil fed screw machines in a range of sizes and automation options; Cam multispindles; and Bar feeders/loaders in several configurations to match the capacities of Tornos' machines.
Equipment is sold, serviced and supported worldwide by the company's global distributor network, which in turn, is supported by headquarters and six subsidiary companies in key market countries. Primary industries served include automotive, dental, electrical, electronic, machinery and medical.
Mark Saalmuller, CMTS, began his career in the metalworking industry in his teens when he worked with his father in a contract shop in Long Island, NY. He joined Tornos Technologies in 1995 as a Regional Sales Manager, was promoted to National Sales Manager in 2003 and recently was named Marketing & Communications Manager.
When to EDM or HSM Medical Components - Advantages of new EDM and HSM technology
For medical manufacturers, staying at the cusp of technological developments is imperative to success. The current rate of innovation is blurring the line between possible and impossible, providing both new products for bettering lives and improved processes for producing existing products. Advancements in EDM and HSM (High Speed Machining) technology are playing a large role in expanding the realms of possibility for medical manufacturing.
In today's medical industry, the technology of the products being produced is moving forward hand-in-hand with the technology used to produce them. The key to success is keeping pace with both of these. EDM and HSM are two key components of staying ahead of the game.
Gilbert Ledvon is Marketing Manager for Charmilles and Mikron US, the world's largest supplier of EDM and HSM machine tools. His tool and mold making career began in 1979 in Germany. He joined Charmilles in 1987 and moved to the U.S. in 1993. He was promoted to his present position in 1998.
Press Applications in the Orthopedics Industry
The company is a manufacturer of compression, vacuum, transfer, LIM, laminating and custom designed presses for manufacturing and laboratory applications.
Medical applications include ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) molding, compaction, silicone molding and encapsulation.
Press controls range from basic PLC control for timed functions to fully programmable systems with networking capability. Options for data collection, recipe storage and custom control functions are available.
The company introduced the first all-electric compression press designed for around-the-clock performance in a lab or on the production floor. Its new E-Series is clean, quiet and offers greater precision over hydraulically driven presses.
David Singer is a Regional Sales Manager for Wabash MPI/Carver, Inc. He has been with the company for the past 23 years, 15 of which are in the area of sales and marketing. He has business and management degrees from Manchester College and Huntington University.
Productivity Challenge- Multi-tasking
Even with the expiration of the accelerated depreciation incentives on capital equipment during the last few years, pent-up demands for new technology and greater productivity continue to be high and are likely to continue during 2006. A difference is that we're not just considering replacement equipment requirements.
Companies really want to manufacture in the U. S., but need to seize current opportunities and implement real process change. One step toward attaining added productive capacity is multi-tasking machine tools, which produce parts in one machine, a process called "done-in-one."
Multi-tasking solutions provide companies with the ability to produce products efficiently and price them to make a profit.
Rick Ware is Vice President of Marketing for Mazak Corp.'s Advantec Division. Rick has spent the last 30 years in the machine tool industry in various capacities and has been with Mazak Corp. since 1987.
Better yet, plan on attending a future conference in your area.
Today's Medical Developments will hold conferences in Memphis (March 7th), Minneapolis (May 23rd), Boston (June 8th), Warsaw (October 10th & 11th) and Anaheim (November 9th). TMD
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