Plymouth, MN—LSA Laser recently announced that it is offering precision micro laser welding of tubing, ribbon, and round wire for use in a broad range of medical devices. The company offers welding of material shapes and sizes in round wire as small as 0.001-inch diameter, ribbon wire as small as 0.001-inch x 0.0025-inch, and tubing with wall thickness as thin as 0.0015-inch and diameters to 0.008-inch. Applications for LSA’s services include defibrillation leads, stents, catheterization subassemblies, and surgical instruments.
Because the firm’s laser welding processes permit precision joining of components with little heat input into the part, they create less distortion than most conventional welding processes, resulting in higher accuracy and quality. Laser weldable materials include Stainless Steels, Nitinol, platinum, titanium, Elgiloy, Nichrome, Invar, MP35N, and others.
Founded in 1998, LSA provides components to medical plastic parts manufacturers throughout the United States. The company is equipped with 16 major laser processing systems. In addition to laser welding services, LSA Laser provides cutting, assembly, marking, and packaging in compliance with ISO 13485:2003 quality standards.
Spin Coating Process Improves Quality of Hardcoating
San Diego, CA—In June, California Hardcoating announced a new spin-coating service for applying scratch-resistant coatings to polycarbonate and acrylic windows. According to Dr. William Lewis, CEO of California Hardcoating Co., the company’s unique spin-coating process applies a clear, super-hard, nanotechnology-based protective layer 4-10 microns thick.
“This achieves an exceptionally clean and smooth result especially suited for coating windows for electronic and medical devices,” said Lewis. “In comparison to dip- or flow-coating processes, our process eliminates thickness gradients and drip-off marks. Moreover, it eliminates the ‘orange peel’ surface ripple associated with spray coatings.”
Scratching of window lenses has been a problem for manufacturers of cell phones, medical equipment, and other electronic equipment requiring high durability. Before employing hardcoating, electronics display window manufacturers routinely had to resort to time-consuming re-work to polish scratches out of uncoated lenses. This extra work has resulted in costs as high as $20,000 per month for a single product line.
Spin coating is especially suited for machined or injection-molded parts needing ‘net coverage.’ Both sides can be coated, including irregular shapes, edges, or steps up to 1/8-inch.