Laser technology is widely used in the manufacturing process of medical devices, including marking, welding, cutting, micromachining, etc. it is a veritable Swiss Army knife. This paper introduces four applications of industrial laser in medical device manufacturing and the products with the highest efficiency.
1、 Laser marking - used for information identification and traceability of enterprises, products and parts
Our common medical devices include bone screws, pacemakers, auditory implants, endoscopic devices, etc., Can mark with a laser. Laser marking can permanently provide company and product information, with corrosion resistance and long-term traceability. It is a direct identification method for parts, and it is also an identification method approved by FDA.
The laser is marked with several different lasers. These lasers can be divided into ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), far infrared (FIR) and ultrashort pulse (USP) picosecond and femtosecond lasers, depending on the product material.
For stainless steel medical equipment, the sign must meet the following conditions:
Corrosion resistance
No surface inclusions
Biocompatibility
Able to withstand multiple cleaning
For stainless steel, USP laser can meet the above conditions and obtain the best comprehensive effect through strict thermal nitric acid test.
2、 Laser welding - an ideal method for connecting very small and complex parts
It is used for spot welding, seam welding and sealing of small precision medical equipment. Parts or local positions smaller than 1mm can be welded. This micro welding is commonly used in pacemakers, surgical blades, endoscopic instruments and batteries.
Lasers used for micro welding include pulsed Nd: YAG, continuous wave (CW) fiber, nanosecond fiber, quasi continuous wave (QCW) fiber and high power amplifier (hbdd) laser. It should be noted that the most appropriate laser is selected according to different applications.
Laser can be used for spot welding. 20-200 micron spot → fiber laser; 200-1000 micron spot → pulse laser.
Pulsed nanosecond laser (NS) is the best choice for welding very small metal parts. The thickness of metal parts is only 0.25 mm and the spot size is less than 50 microns. Pulsed ns laser is applicable to the welding of almost any material, providing new opportunities for the combination of small parts and new materials.
In addition to metal welding, laser is also widely used in the welding of plastic parts, which is clean, pollution-free and beautiful.