Medical tubing technology around the world
The global healthcare sector is a key industry for Davis-Standard. The company describes its medical tubing technology for customers looking for expertise in this area.
As the global medical tubing market has evolved, so has Davis-Standard’s equipment offering and support services. Tight tolerances, high speeds, cleanroom specific equipment, process support and ongoing R&D services are paramount to Davis-Standard’s medical tubing product line.
According to the company laboratory lines at its headquarters in Pawcatuck, Connecticut and subsidiary in Suzhou, China, have helped customers bring new products to market, test new applications and refine processes for micro-bore catheter tubing, multi-lumen tubing and bump tubing. Medical tubing continues to be an area of significant growth for Davis-Standard.
Examples of innovations include a tight tolerance medical tubing line for processing high temperature FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene) tubing with radiopaque stripes, the MEDD (medical extruder direct drive) extruder and an alternating polymer tubing line. The FEP line is ideal for medical applications requiring biocompatibility and lubricity. The compact MEDD extruder is optimised for cleanroom environments with a replaceable feed section liner and direct drive technology for greater efficiency and materials flexibility.
Davis-Standard also offers a high-tech melt pump system to maximise stability when processing sensitive materials. The alternate polymer technology allows processors to switch from polymer A to polymer B by using precision extruders and melt pumps with highly accurate servo drives to toggle between resins.
“We do everything possible to ensure our equipment meets or exceeds customer expectations,” said Kevin Dipollino, product manager of Davis-Standard’s Pipe, Profile, & Tubing Systems.
“With continued growth in medical tubing market worldwide, our R&D lab lines have been an extremely important asset for both Davis-Standard and our customers. The lines have also supported our efforts to stay ahead of the game and bring competitive solutions to the industry.”
Davis-Standard’s principal medical lab is housed in a climate-controlled cleanroom environment at its R&D centre in Pawcatuck. Customers can test new resins, make parts for proof-of-concept, and conduct downstream R&D prior to making large capital equipment investments. The line is set up to run multiple resins. The lab also incorporates Davis-Standard’s patented Alternate Polymer technology with all components monitored and controlled by the EPIC III® control system.
Dr. Jason Baird, process development engineer added: “The healthcare segment is an important industry for us and extensive capabilities for cleanroom processing is a big part of that. Having multiple equipment options and a lab to test new processes is essential to serving our customers around the globe.”