For a lot of manufactured medical parts, failure is not an option. Defects can affect performance, which can seriously impact a patient’s condition. Defective medical parts are a common cause of personal injury lawsuits; these actions can cost the manufacturer millions in legal expenses.
Abrasive Flow Machining (AFM) is a finishing process used by many Pittsburgh-based industries, including medical manufacturers. That’s because AFM can improve the reliability and performance of parts and components in ways that other finishing processes can’t.
AFM smooths and polishes parts through the use of an abrasive flow media. This abrasive flow media is a viscous compound containing an abrasive material (such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, or industrial diamonds) mixed with a carrier material (usually a polymer). During the AFM finishing process, the abrasive flow media is extruded along a part’s inner and outer surfaces. As it flows across the surfaces of a workpiece, the abrasive materials in the media erode away burrs and other surface imperfections.
Medical Manufacturing Applications
Producers of medical parts and components utilize use AFM for a number of applications:
- Polishing and deburring. AFM significantly reduces rough spots, burrs, and other irregularities uniformly, resulting in a smoother, more precise surface finish.
- Finishing internal surfaces. The shape and condition of interior passages in medical parts have a big impact on their performance. The AFM process is able to reach inside the small tubes, channels, and complex geometries found in catheters, endoscopes, and many types of surgical instruments. It can smooth and deburr parts with hard-to-reach inner surfaces and complex surface geometries in ways other finishing processes can’t.
- Radiussing. The edges of scalpels and other medical instruments can be finished to very high standards to enhance strength and performance.
- Surface Stress Relief. AFM removes surface imperfections, helping to improve performance by reducing wear and tear to the finished part.
The Benefits of Abrasive Flow Machining for Manufacturers of Medical Parts and Devices
AFM provides many benefits when compared to other finishing processes. These factors make AFM a valuable tool for enhancing the functionality, biocompatibility, and reliability of medical devices and components:
- Accurate and repeatable results with shorter cycle times.
- AFM can be more cost-effective than other finishing methods.
- Shorter cycle times.
- Achieves high levels of accuracy with repeatable results
- Better function, reliability, and performance of finished parts.
- AFM can be used to finish a wide range of materials, including aluminum, steel, and titanium parts.
Deburring & Finishing Technology: The First Choice for Abrasive Flow Machining in Pittsburgh, PA
Some of Pittsburgh’s leading manufacturing companies turn to Deburring & Finishing Technologies when they require expert abrasive flow deburring services and custom-formulated abrasive flow media. Deburring & Finishing Technologies has been providing state-of-the-art abrasive flow deburring services, equipment, and consumables to manufacturing companies throughout the Pittsburgh, PA area since 2009. Our team of engineers and specialists have the expertise to help your company tackle just about any Pittsburgh, PA abrasive deburring job.
You can contact us through our website or call Deburring & Finishing Technologies at (412) 849-1522 to discuss your Pittsburgh, PA abrasive flow machining job and get a free quote.