Originally Published EMDM May/June 2002
STENT PRODUCTION
Laser cutting machine suited for creation of stents
Richard Swindell, sales manager at Stent-Cil Inc. (San Clemente, CA, USA) explains that his company created the Pro Stent-2 laser cutting machine to fill a market gap for a tube-processing system to cut larger tube diameters. "There is a definite need in the medical device market for this system [in the production of] peripheral stents," he says. The company exhibited at the MD&M West show.
Based on the company's existing Pro Stent-1 technology, the Pro Stent-2 can laser-cut tubing in diameters ranging from 0.25 to 1.125 in.—an increase from the Pro Stent-1, which cuts up to 0.25-in.-diam tubing. Additionally, the motion-system travel has been increased from 6 to 12 in., allowing for the cutting of longer parts.
Both Pro Stent models feature Stent-Cil's SCI Motion Controller software. With a user-friendly graphical interface, the software provides full visual feedback of laser parameters, programme parameters, video feedback of the cutting surface, system status messages, part counts, and timers—all on a single LCD screen.
The Pro Stent machines incorporate the 246FC laser source made by Lasag (Thun, Switzerland). "Lasag had the best beam size for our stent-cutting application," says Swindell, noting that Stent-Cil developed the Pro Stent system in tandem with Lasag, focussing on the creation of a patented tube-cutting process.
Copyright ©2002 European Medical Device Manufacturer
