Manufacturing Catheters with Laser Systems: Part II

In our last blog post, we explored the role various laser processes play in catheter manufacturing. Now, we turn our attention to examples of laser machine designs we’ve developed for this industry. Bear in mind, you can use one of these “standard” concepts, or our engineering team is happy to design a custom solution to meet your needs.

Reel-to-Reel, Reel-to-Tray and Tray-to-Tray Processing

In this machine concept, material is pulled from a bulk reel or picked from an input tray—if already in sections. The material then enters into the laser system for marking, stationary processing or on-the-fly processing. From there, it can be unloaded back onto another reel or placed into a tray.

The catheter guide wire systems we have in production use this concept to take bulk braided steel from a reel. The machine cuts and welds the steel to a specified length using encoder tracking and then unloads the finished pieces into a tray.

Laser Cutting and Capping of Endoscopic Guide Wires

Multi-Lane Processing

We designed this system to mark multiple catheters at once using a multi-lane concept that increases production rates and minimizes footprint. In the video below, the system marks three separate catheter tubes on both sides in three separation locations using six laser sources.

Laser Marking Medical Cables

Laser Welding Catheter Balloons

The following machine holds two plastic parts and rotates them on the same axis. Meanwhile, a laser beam welds the two parts together—giving tubes and other cylindrical parts a complete weld all the way around the seam.

Laser Welding Catheters with Vision System

Hand-Place Multiple Part Rotation Marking

Rotating and marking the circumference of a catheter part on-the-fly reduces cycle time. At the same time, you can continuously mark parts without needing to piece together sections from each side to fill the entire circumference.

In the following video, the operator places four parts into the machine fixture by hand. The machine then rotates the parts while marking a white ring around them. The ability to process and mark multiple parts at once has brought many benefits to the customer’s production process.

Laser Marking System for Medical Catheters

Learn More

We routinely design and manufacture laser systems around a wide range of processes related to catheter manufacturing, including:

  • Cutting plastic tubing
  • Drilling holes or slits
  • Marking rings around the catheter
  • Marking distance tick-marks along plastic catheters
  • Marking text or logos on plastic catheters or connected plastic parts
  • Welding the balloon to the end of the catheter
  • Welding two sections of catheter tubing together

Contact us today to get started.

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