Medical Device Link.

MEDTEC 2006

You might say that medical component supplier Veridiam (San Diego, CA, USA) knows something about the proverbial beating of swords into ploughshares. The firm has established a solid reputation among medical device OEMs by providing specialty tubing, tubular components, and machined parts for applications ranging from minimally invasive surgical instruments to implants. But its distant roots had a more bellicose bent.

Carpenter Special Products Corp., as Veridiam was known until November 2005, was a subsidiary of Carpenter Technology Corp. (Wyomissing, PA, USA). Founded as a steel mill in 1889 in Reading, Pennsylvania, Carpenter Technology patented a form of steel that was used to craft warship projectiles as well as knives and drills. The San Diego plant opened in May 1954, specializing in the development of tubing for aircraft and nuclear applications. Eventually, it began producing tubing for medical applications. Carpenter Special Products Corp. was acquired by a private equity group in June 2005 and renamed Veridiam. It has continued to build on its success in the medical device market by developing tubular components and cannulated bar for orthopaedic, cardiology, general surgical, orthodontic, and instrumentation applications.

The company hopes to further increase its involvement in the medical sector and expand its geographical reach by exhibiting at MEDTEC. “[Given] our success at the MD&M trade shows in Anaheim, New York City, and Minneapolis in the United States, the decision to explore opportunities in Europe is a logical extension,” notes director of sales and marketing Rich Hockman. (The MD&M events are organized by Canon Communications llc, which also publishes this magazine.)

At MEDTEC, Veridiam will highlight its fabricated tubular components, assemblies, and cannulated bar. Its welded and drawn tubing can be fabricated with outer diameters ranging from 0.76 to 305.0 mm and in wall thicknesses from 0.050 to 3.175 mm. Routinely achieving tight inner and outer diameter tolerances, the tubing is custom engineered from materials such as stainless steel, titanium, zirconium, and nickel alloys. Additionally, the company can form cannulated bar from a range of alloys, including nickel-free austenitic stainless steel with high nitrogen content. The line of cannulated bar is suitable for orthopaedic applications such as twist drills and thick-wall seamless tubing for fixation onto the spine.

The manufacturer thoroughly tests and inspects its precision products by means of nondestructive testing techniques, including radiography and dye-penetrant inspection, ultrasonic flaw detection, hydrostatic pressure testing, and magnetic particle inspection.