Medical Device Link.

Originally Published EMDM January/February 2003

INDUSTRY NEWS

Manual fine-wire connection in minimally invasive surgical devices is a long, often inaccurate process. EMC Component Group (Mountain View, CA, USA), a company that manufactures low-noise oscillators for medical product applications, has developed a single-connector interface technology that eliminates hand soldering, thus reducing labor time and improving yields. Machine-built Smart Blocks can combine solder or solderless wire terminations, flex-circuit terminations, surface-mount components, and pin interconnections—all in one so-called block—while eliminating manual termination and hand mounting of components.

"In the minimally invasive surgical handpiece market, labor assembly costs are a major component of the manufacturing cost," says EMC president Michael Viguerie. "We are able to significantly reduce labor costs by incorporating Smart Blocks into assembly processes; in some cases, we have reduced assembly times by 35 to 40% per handpiece, while improving yield." Terminating wires to a Smart Block is significantly faster, easier, and less expensive than the traditional method, which requires each individual wire to be manually terminated. Smart Block connector interfaces provide solderless termination for solid discrete wires, or solder terminations for stranded wires and flex circuits.

EMC Component Group has recently developed two methods that work in conjunction with its Smart Blocks to speed up the termination of 32- to 48-AWG fine wire: a mechanical Smart Spike method for the capture and insertion of fine wire, and a high-speed solder station, which eliminates the need for soldering irons. Additionally, the company offers the Smart Limiter line of use-limiting devices, which can be mounted on a Smart Block. The electromechanical devices limit use of the product to a predetermined setting, and then effectively render it useless.

For more information, contact EMC Component Group, 670 National Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; phone: +1 650 9692286; fax: +1 650 9692287; e-mail: mviguerie@emccomponent.com; Internet: www.emccomponent.com.

Kelly Donoghue

Copyright ©2003 European Medical Device Manufacturer