{"id":2123,"date":"2022-08-19T15:48:14","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T22:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/profileprecisionextrusions.com\/staging\/9083\/?p=2123"},"modified":"2023-05-17T17:59:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T00:59:26","slug":"aluminum-brings-flexibility-to-medical-device-engineering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/profileprecisionextrusions.com\/staging\/9083\/aluminum-brings-flexibility-to-medical-device-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Aluminum Brings Flexibility to Medical Device Engineering"},"content":{"rendered":"

More often than not, aluminum isn\u2019t the first metal that comes to mind when a medical device engineer is working on a new project. Metals like stainless steel and titanium are used extensively for implants and surgical instruments. Surprisingly, aluminum extrusions have been used extensively by the medical community for many well-known instruments. The ear tubes (binaural) of a stethoscope, the most well-known medical instrument, are made from extruded aluminum tubes. Medical device engineers are considering extruded aluminum shapes and aluminum tubing more often than in the past to solve unique challenges. This is especially true for one use surgical instruments where recyclability, flexible geometry, ease of machining\/fabrication, and biocompatible coatings are important.<\/p>\n

Flexibility In Medical Device Designs<\/b><\/h3>\n

Some Trocar designs developed in the 1990\u2019s utilized the geometric flexibility aluminum extrusions. The hollow designs made it possible to have three very sharp edges for cutting skin and the abdominal wall. The extrusions are fabricated on a <\/span>Swiss CNC lathe<\/span><\/a> and anodized to prevent oxidation. The outside diameter ranged from 5mm to 12mm which utilized a different extrusion die for each size.<\/span><\/p>\n