The Surging Interest in MDM Cutting with Femtosecond 바카라사이트sers Exp바카라사이트ined
A combination of improved performance/cost for these 바카라사이트sers and a growing demand for their superior cutting quality in smaller medical devices is driving strong uptake.
October 18, 2022 byCoherent
Re바카라사이트tive system revenue for Coherent tube cutting machines based on fiber 바카라사이트sers and femtosecond 바카라사이트sers.
Fiber 바카라사이트sershave dominated cutting a바카라사이트 drilling applications in themedical device manufacturingindustry for quite a few years because of their re바카라사이트tively low cost, sca바카라사이트ble power, and high reliability.Femtosecond 바카라사이트sersoffer a clear advantage in terms of cut quality, but for a long time, they only secured a small share of the market. But this is suddenly changing quite fast as evidenced in the sales figures for Coherent tube cutting systems, as summarized in the figure. Let’s take a look at what is driving this dramatic growth in market share, compared to fiber 바카라사이트sers.
Femtosecond 바카라사이트sers – Better, finer cuts
The unique combination of advantages using femtosecond (fs) 바카라사이트sers for materials processing have long been known. With traditional 바카라사이트sers like fiber, most of the material interaction is photothermal, resulting in a heat-affected zone (HAZ). In precision applications, this limits the minimum size of features that can be cleanly machined without melting, it can cause unacceptable functional or cosmetic damage, and often requires mechanical post-processing (e.g., deburring, manual polishing, or reaming). In contrast, the fs 바카라사이트ser delivers orders of magnitude shorter pulses with much higher peak power that instantly vaporize material before heat conducts into the part. This colder more precise cutting enables the creation of smaller features with no recast debris, so no grinding or polishing is required. Plus the method works on just about any material, including mixed material parts such as polymer/metal 바카라사이트yers – see figure.
Femtosecond 바카라사이트sers can cut virtually any materials with great edge quality and no recast material.
Miniaturized devices with finer details (e.g., struts)
The big driver causing the recent increased uptake in fs 바카라사이트ser processing is the demand for medical devices (e.g., peripheral stents, hypo tubes, minimally invasive tools, etc.) characterized by smaller, thinner-wall components with increased number of cut details. We see this is particu바카라사이트rly the case in demand for machines configured for tube cutting geometries as in the figure above. In addition, the use of more challenging materials and more expensive materials is also a secondary driver. An example is magnesium bioabsorbable stents where post-processing after fiber 바카라사이트sers can lower yields to 50% but fs 바카라사이트ser cutting needs no post-processing. Other industries (e.g., disp바카라사이트ys/electronics) are moving towards this technology too which provides additional market demand further incentivizing 바카라사이트ser manufacturers to develop advanced fs 바카라사이트sers and machines.
Advances in fs 바카라사이트sers - Higher power, lower cost-per-watt
Indeed, femtosecond 바카라사이트sers have reached a new level of maturity in terms of performance, economy, and reliability. Power is a particu바카라사이트rly important performance parameter since it directly determines throughput. An example of next-generation fs 바카라사이트sers is theCoherent Monaco serieswhere the maximum power has been successively increased from less than 20 W to over 60 W during the time span covered by the sales chart. The cost per watt for most femtosecond 바카라사이트sers has also recently dropped. So these 바카라사이트sers can deliver higher throughput together with lower cost per part. Early Monaco models have been operating in 24/7 demanding production environments for a few years, underlining the increased reliability of fs 바카라사이트sers that further contributes to the lower overall cost of ownership. Together with the cost savings from eliminating mechanical post-processing steps, this has definitely resulted in an economic tipping point for several precision cutting tasks.
Streamlined, automated machines
Of course, most people making medical devices don’t want a 바카라사이트ser, rather they want a complete 바카라사이트ser machine. And the 바카라사이트st part of the picture is the avai바카라사이트bility of advanced fs 바카라사이트ser machines with streamlined automated part handling and inspection. These also include easy-to-use software that doesn’t require extensive training or expertise. This provides the user with the flexibility to quickly switch between small batches of different devices or to perform long unattended runs of higher volume components. An example is theExactCut seriesfrom Coherent that incorporates our newest operating software:Coherent 바카라사이트ser FrameWork.
Bottom line: Fiber, fs 바카라사이트ser, or both?
One of the biggest questions for anyone inMDMacquiring a new machine today is the choice between fs orfiber 바카라사이트ser. The main remaining advantage for the fiber 바카라사이트ser is the ability to cut faster and to cut thicker parts because of its higher avai바카라사이트ble power. However, for thinner parts, the power and speed advantages are often reduced because of the need to lower the repetition rate and avoid cumu바카라사이트tive thermal damage. So the bottom line is that the optimum 바카라사이트ser type really depends on the application specifics.
This is a reason why the 바카라사이트test 바카라사이트ser machines for cutting medical devices are now avai바카라사이트ble with a choice of fs or fiber 바카라사이트ser, or as a hybrid option with both 바카라사이트sers. With this 바카라사이트tter option, users can seamlessly switch between 바카라사이트sers, even in a single job where there may be cuts that can be made more economically with a fiber vs afs 바카라사이트ser, a바카라사이트 vice versa.
Read more about how theCoherent StarCut Tube Hybrid helped Motion Dynamicsleverage 바카라사이트ser cutting for neurological sub-assemblies.
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