2017cnc12-1

Increasingly demanding requirements in the medical device industry mean that the design of medical instru- ments, implants and prosthetics is continuously opti- mized to the extent that every surface now has one or more functions, or offers a range of features. Increasingly demanding requirements in the medical device industry mean that the design of medical instru- ments, implants and prosthetics is continuously opti- mized to the extent that every surface now has one or more functions, or offers a range of features. Nowadays, permanent implants manufactured from a single part are particularly in demand to avoid prob- lems during assembly. Since the pre-cleaning of the in- dividual elements is combined with the final cleaning during assembly, this often results in issues in terms of validation – particularly when drying after using water- soluble cleaning agents. Against this background, design engineers are re- quired to develop permanent implants from a single part, knowing that multiple technologies must be used or combined in the manufacturing process in order to meet all technical specification requirements (fig. 1). In addition, implants for the same purpose have to be pro- duced in different sizes in order to meet different patient Multi-Technologies Provided by GF Machining Solutions requirements. This can lead to extremely variable batch sizes, in which average-sized implants may be manu- factured in batches of several hundred units, while extremely large implants are only produced in small volumes. In the past, the production of these small vol- umes was avoided by manufacturing extremely large sizes in batches only once every 12 or 24 months. Now- adays, however, with the latest production management toolboxes, just-in-time processes and Kanban systems (fig. 2), as well as the pressure to reduce tied-up capital, this is no longer possible. As a world leading provider of multi-technology so- lutions from a single source, GF Machining Solutions offers a complete portfolio of technologies (Milling, wire-cutting EDM, die-sinking EDM, Laser process- ing and Laser texturing), and links these to their own automation system in a flexible production cell (fig. 3). Wherever possible, this production cell is equipped to enable the medical device product to be manufactured in a single clamping process. Depending on the demand and the degree of automation, loading and unloading can be performed in every station of the flexible pro- duction cell—either manually or in a fully automated process. This leads to a reduction in the workforce re- quired to achieve the daily product volume. Fig 3 Washing machine Mill S 400 High-speed Mill- ing machine FORM 2000 VHPDie-sink- ing EDMmachine CUT 2000S Wire-cutting EDM machine 3R CellManager Modular Job and Cellmanagement system Transformer Palletchanger with a transfer weight of 100 kg, Dynafix Pallet 280mm x 280mm Fig. 1 – Example of a complex spinal implant that requires the use of multiple technologies in the manu- facturing process Fig. 2 – Standard Kanban production workflow