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Thickness check cuts product development time
A
Lumetrics product story
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team
Jun 23, 2008
Lumetrics' OptiGauge 'super luminescent' thickness measurement technology has dramatically decreased product development time for polymeric medical implants.
TESco is using Lumetrics' OptiGauge Super Luminescent Technology to provide 'never before obtainable' data regarding physical attributes of custom polymer-based tubing.
TESco is using a Lumetrics OptiGauge thickness measurement system, including an automated tubing analysis fixture, to quickly and accurately determine size and form characteristics of a new product design.
Associate manager, Operations and Client Relations of TESco, Andy Thatcher, said: "Originally intended to be a QC instrument for monitoring production, the OptiGauge has allowed us to quickly and easily determine the geometry of our tubing during development".
He continued: "This information has enabled us to immediately identify abnormalities in prototypes, isolate the cause, and take corrective actions.
The speed with which we were able to make changes to the process as we moved from startup to fine-tuning, reduced the time to produce qualified product from 4-6 months to just weeks".
TESco had to provide very precise dimensions and geometry for its customer, using new raw materials and manufacturing methods.
"The Lumetrics' OptiGauge can identify very small product irregularities, which our manufacturing equipment supplier then used to fine-tune their systems, dramatically reducing the time required to produce tubing that met our customer's specifications," said Thatcher.
* Optical, non-contact techniques - Lumetrics' OptiGauge Super Luminescent Technology uses optical, non-contact techniques to provide highly accurate dimensions and form characteristics of thin-walled medical devices.
It eliminates human error in associated manufacturing and quality control processes of products such as stents, catheters and balloons.
As a part of TESco's OptiGauge system, Lumetrics also provided a semi-automated tubing fixture that is capable of simultaneously measuring wall thickness, ID, OD, concentricity and ovality of a tubular product in seconds, and to sub-micron accuracies.
These metrics can be integrated into a quality control database, where comparisons with expected dimensions can be used to generate pass/fail recommendations in real time.
Speed, accuracy, and reliability all far exceed traditional measurement methods.
Vice president of sales and marketing at Lumetrics, Steve Heveron-Smith, said: "We work closely with our customers to provide individualized fixturing and software in an integrated manufacturing environment.
We pride ourselves in providing full solutions as part of a partnership with our customers, to meet their specific measurement needs".
* About TESco - TESco is a specialty manufacturer of bio-absorbable medical implants.
For more information about TESco, visit (www.tescoassociates.com).
* About Lumetrics - Lumetrics designs, manufactures, and markets advanced optics-based test instruments that provide unique measurement solutions for a variety of medical and industrial applications.
Lumetrics technology employs the power of light for accurate and routine analysis of materials such as specialty tubing and film, flexible packaging, glass, plastics, coatings, and optics.
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