Laser tube cutting services are an increasingly crucial capability in today’s medical manufacturing space. From cannula tubes and catheters to many unique types of hypodermic tubing and stents, modern medical devices often rely on precision laser-machined miniature tube parts.
Specializing in comprehensive laser tube cutting and machining solutions for the medical and healthcare markets, HyTech Spring and Machine is excited to delve further into the capabilities of this unique process.
The Advantages of Laser Tube Cutting vs. Conventional Machining:
Producing Complex Tubular Parts with Precision
HyTech’s laser cutting systems can cut intricate, complex shapes (e.g., slots, holes, or curves) that would be difficult or even impossible to produce with mechanical machining methods. Laser tube cutting likewise reliably maintains extremely tight tolerances – critical for modern medical devices.
The precision of laser cutting reduces the need for post-processing. The cuts that are typically clean and free from excessive burring, further enhancing the quality of the end product. Finally, since there is no physical contact between the tool and the material, laser cutting doesn’t suffer from tool wear, helping us maintain consistent precision over time.
Micro Cutting Capability
Lasers provide us with enhanced micro cutting capability. For components that require extremely small features (such as stents and catheters), laser tube cutting can create precise micro-cuts that are prohibitively difficult to achieve with mechanical machining methods.
Even for the smallest machining features, laser cutting ensures high repeatability with minimal variation from one part to the next, which is essential for medical devices where end product uniformity is crucial.
Material Versatility and Thin-Walled Parts
Lasers can efficiently cut a wide range of materials, including stainless steel, titanium, nitinol, and other biocompatible metals that are commonly used in the industry. This material versatility is key to serving the diverse needs of today’s medical devices.
Additionally, because lasers are non-contact, physical stress on materials is minimized. Laser cutting is thus typically better suited for cutting fragile or thin-walled tubing without causing deformation. Plus, unlike other cutting methods, lasers produce minimal heat-affected zones on the workpiece. That reduces material distortion and maintains the integrity of delicate parts, simultaneously minimizing defects and manufacturing errors.
Manufacturing Virtually All Types of Laser Tube Medical Products:
- Airway stents
- Cannula tubes
- Catheter shafts
- Coronary stents
- Custom needle fabrication
- Hypo tube (hypodermic tubing)
- Medical pull rings
- Medical implant components
- Nitinol stents
- Thin-walled tubes
- Needle fabrication
How the Laser Tube Cutting Process Works
Laser tube cutting is a precise manufacturing process that uses a concentrated laser beam to cut through tubular materials, such as metals or plastics. The process begins with generating and focusing the laser beam, which melts, burns, or vaporizes the material at the cutting point.
As with conventional CNC machining, computer and robotic systems precisely control the movement and rotation of the tube. Automated part handling and tool paths facilitate extremely accurate cuts along multiple axes.
The laser follows a pre-programmed path based on CAD designs, allowing us to produce intricate shapes, holes, and other features repeatably from one part to the next. An assisting gas helps remove debris and cools the cutting area to maintain exceptional cut quality.
High-Precision Manufacturing for the Medical Industry Since 1984
HyTech Spring & Machine is backed by more than 40 years of service as one of America’s leading medical device manufacturing companies. We ensure superior quality and precision with every laser machined component in accordance with the strict requirements of the modern medical sector.
