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Surfx Technologies LLC
3617 Hayden Ave.
Culver City, CA 90232
Tel: 310/558-0770
Fax: 310/388-6066
Web: http://www.surfxtechnologies.com
E-mail: merino@surfxtechnologies.com
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| Surfx Technologies Releases a New Generation of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Systems |
Company Background
Surfx Technologies, LLC develops, manufactures, and sells surface treatment equipment for the medical device, aerospace and electronics industries. Our products use a proprietary atmospheric plasma system to activate and functionalize the surfaces of polymeric materials used in medical devices and other high value-added products.
Plasma Treatment Basics
Plasma has been described as the "fourth state of matter" but it is simply an ionized gas - a gas into which sufficient energy is provided to free electrons from atoms or molecules and to allow both species to coexist. In an ordinary gas, each atom contains an equal number of positive and negative charges; the positive charges in the nucleus are surrounded by an equal number of negatively charged electrons, and each atom is electrically "neutral." A gas becomes a plasma when the addition of heat or electrical energy causes a significant number of atoms to release one of their electrons. These atoms are left with a positive charge, and the detached negative electrons are free to move about. The gas containing the charged atoms is said to be "ionized," and hence is called a plasma.
Atmospheric plasma treatment is an efficient, environmentally friendly method of surface preparation prior to bonding, deposition or coating. The reactive species generated in low temperature plasmas are well suited for surface treatment of many different materials, including ceramics, polymers, fabric, wire, molded parts, powders, gels and even microorganisms. Using a plasma stream on a target surface eliminates the need for expensive and toxic solvents to prepare the surface for further processing. Plasma treatment activates the surface so that the desired bond strength is obtained without affecting the substrate material.
Additionally plasma treatment can be tuned to optimize a specific property of the target material:
Lastly, atmospheric plasma systems can be used to coat the surface of plastics and other temperature sensitive materials and permanently change the surface chemical properties.
Atomflo™ Product Portfolio
The Atomflo family of products combines a radio frequency power train, process flow control, and microprocessor "brain" with a wide variety of standard plasma sources (see Figure 1.):
These plasma sources are designed to treat a multitude of 3-D components as found in the medical device, aerospace, and electronic industries.
Surface treatment with atmospheric plasma is fast, usually taking less than 10 seconds per part, and results in up to a 5X increase in bond strength of the adhesive to the polymer. This treatment greatly enhances the durability and reliability of the customer’s assembled product, especially for devices implanted in the human body. One of the key advantages of the Atomflo surface treatment tool is that it inserts directly into the manufacturing line, either as a handheld or robot integrated system (see Figure 2.). This may be contrasted to traditional vacuum plasmas, where batches of parts are inserted into a chamber, processed for up to an hour, and then placed in a bin until needed in the assembly process.
Surfx's plasma devices produce a uniform beam of reactive species at low temperature that are free of ions and particulate contamination. They treat thermally sensitive materials without causing damage, and have been successfully used in clean room environments. Medical polymers are quickly activated with the Atomflo.
Categories this company is listed under in the North American Suppliers Directory:
- Manufacturing Equipment and Software: Equipment: Automation/Custom equipment (539 companies)
- Manufacturing Equipment and Software: Equipment: Cleaning systems and chemicals (96 companies)
- Printing and Surface-Treatment Products and Services: Surface modification: Equipment (96 companies)
- Sterilization: Plasma: Equipment (14 companies)
