| Admedes Schüssler Press Release |  |
It’s Not Just Nitinol Anymore: Stainless Steel, Titanium, Cobalt Alloys, Tantalum, Niobium and Other Metallic Materials Are Finding Their Home in Medical Application and at Admedes Schuessler
Admedes Schuessler has long been known for our outstanding Nitinol processing capabilities. Less well known is the long history we have in other alloys such as Stainless Steel or Cobalt alloys. Metallurgists, scientists and engineers will all speak to the bizarre behavior of Nitinol, however gaining experience in this arena and then applying learnings to more standard and predictable alloys has certainly been beneficial to the Admedes team over the years.
An example of the benefits of the trickle-down effect of Nitinol is in electro-polishing techniques. The heat affected zone (HAZ) of any metal substrate after various types of machining can impact downstream performance and durability. The scientists and engineers at Admedes have studied methodology of design and manufacture that account for material subtraction after machining via aggressive electro-polishing. Therefore, finished part tolerances can be maintained without any trace of the machining operations which took place in production. Today, Admedes has perfected its EP capability such that utilization has been found in multiple applications and with a multitude of materials. An example is Titanium for implantable encasements or orthopedic components. Our processes allow us to polish to approximately 1µm Ra (beyond measurement capability).
Another benefit of working with Nitinol in our formative years is that we have had to produce parts that not only have tight tolerances, but must exhibit shape memory behavior at specific temperature indicators. This performance characteristic can be altered with minute imperfections in either the raw material stock or in processing inconsistencies. Again the scientists and engineers have studied and catalogued these anomalies as it impacts the downstream functioning of the finished device. Today, our inspection techniques and quality standards are set to extremely high levels of sensitivity and scrutiny for any defects that may exist. Not only is our raw stock inspected with vigilance and care, but processes are aggressively validated and any failure that occurs is studied for root cause and corrective measures.
These are but two examples of the expertise developed here at Admedes Schuessler through our early studies in Nitinol. Please contact us about experience we can apply to your specific materials and designs at info@admedes.com.
