Chemical Etching to Manufacture Medical Devices

Chemical Etching to Manufacture Medical Devices – Cheersonic

Chemical etching can produce complex, stress-free miniature components for microfluidics, implants, and other medical devices.

The medical industry clearly requires the absolute highest standards in precision metal components to ensure smooth, trouble-free operation of surgical instruments. Metal components in medical applications also require corrosion resistance, mechanical strength properties, and material biocompatibility. These components often have to be gadgets of complex design. Chemical etching is a metal fabrication method that guarantees this high quality and reliability requirement.

In this article, we will examine some of the key benefits of chemical etching processes and how they can be used in the medical industry. Much of the advantage stems from the nature of the chemical etching process, the ability to shape metal into fine, precise and complex designs without affecting any of the metal’s inherent properties. This is where chemical etching manufacturing technology excels and offers many benefits in the medical industry.

1. Micro parts for medical devices

Thanks to chemical etching technology, we are able to produce complex, ultra-precise, stress- and burr-free micro-components of biocompatible materials within days. For example, chemical etching can also achieve thicknesses up to 25 μm. For different metals, 10% of the material thickness can be chemically etched with a minimum tolerance of 12 μm, other possibilities are possible upon request.

There are a wide range of practical applications, from precision filtration and calibration products, to microfluidics and medical implants. Thanks to chemical etching we are able to produce certain products, here is a sample of some of the products we are able to produce:
Diaphragm
microfluidic channel
microreplication
Hearing aid components
Precision net
Precision sieve
Photomask, Evaporation Shield, Splash Shield
surgical blade

2. Mass production of medical devices

Thanks to the process of attacking the metal with an etchant, we can go from prototyping to mass production in just a few days. This is because we don’t need to machine the stencil, we don’t need to work on part of the sheet metal, we can do the chemical etching work on the entire item at the same time. Since the mold/pattern design is all done on the computer, it is easy to adjust the prototype until the agreed finished product is made. Also, due to the nature of chemical etch manufacturing methods, we are able to achieve the highest standards of quality and also be repeatable on a large scale, which is very important in the medical industry.

3. Medical alloys

Stainless steel is one of the most commonly used alloys in almost all industries and can even be found in your cutlery drawers. There must be a reason why stainless steel is so widely used. In medical devices, chromium provides corrosion and scratch resistance, nickel provides a smooth and polished surface, and molybdenum adds hardness and helps maintain a sharp edge. It is because of these great advantages that

Another common alloy used in the medical industry is a cobalt-chromium-based alloy, commonly used in dental and orthopaedic implants. These materials are resistant to corrosion and wear, have excellent biocompatibility, and have the ability to replicate the structure of the human body they replace.

In the medical industry, these two alloys (along with others such as titanium) have perfect properties and are therefore the best choice for medical devices.

4. Advantages of chemically etched parts

As mentioned earlier, chemical etching makes the finished product burr-free and stress-free, so little post-processing is required. Because the etchant only corrodes the unwanted material, the metal is not embrittled or thermally deformed by high-energy processing such as laser or mechanical stamping that can alter the metal’s structure. During the etching process, these metals maintained the properties originally desired, and after the fabrication process was completed, we had the final result.

5. Complex design of chemical etching

Many medical products require extremely precise and intricately designed metal parts. One of the great advantages of using chemical etching in the manufacturing process is that the complexity of the design is no longer a limiting factor. A stencil can be made on computer software, and then the CAD-designed stencil can be transferred to the photoresist for molding to form the desired shape. This translates into a fast, seamless manufacturing method that is less expensive because there are fewer things involved in the production process compared to other etching/cutting methods. This reduces risk and saves time. Delivery times are no longer measured in weeks but in days.

Original Medtec China

Cheersonic is the leading developer and manufacturer of ultrasonic coating systems for applying precise, thin film coatings to protect, strengthen or smooth surfaces on parts and components for the microelectronics/electronics, alternative energy, medical and industrial markets, including specialized glass applications in construction and automotive.