Seco Cutting Tools all New for the Medical Industry

Seco Tools, the leading manufacturer and supplier of carbide cutting tools and tooling systems solutions, has recently introduced a number of new, advanced products aimed primarily at medical component and prosthetic device manufacturers.

The products - Jetstream Tooling™ Seco Feedmax™ solid carbide drills, and JABRO™ Solid carbide end mills – deliver better performance (e.g. improved part accuracies and repeatability longer tool life increased process stability and reliability etc.), and significant cost-efficiencies to manufacturers machining hard and difficult-to-machine materials like stainless steels, titanium and other alloys used in the medical industry.

The global orthopaedic and prosthetics market is big business and is growing fast.

This growth, fuelled by demand for high-quality engineered replacement orthopaedic parts (hip joints, knee joints etc.), is driven by a number of demographic trends and interrelated factors that include - an aging global population, increases in obesity levels, a rising incidence of degenerative joint diseases such as osteoporosis and arthritis, and the increased desire (among many) to maintain active lifestyles.
 

So, despite a relative dip in demand during the 2008/09 recession and a similar experienced during the current economic slowdown, revenue forecasts for the global orthopaedic and prosthetics market remain positive, are expected to have grown 11 – 12% from 2010 to 2011, and are projected to reach $19.4 billion by 2015.

It is not surprising then that given the size and potential of the global market and the commercial opportunities open to orthopaedic and prosthetic device manufacturers that the sector is highly-competitive and is characterised at all levels and throughout the supply chain by innovation and continuous technological breakthroughs and developments.

Technology advances

Artificial joints and prosthetic devices have improved greatly since they were first introduced around 40 years ago.

Advances in material sciences and metallurgy, combined with similar advances in manufacturing technologies and their application have all resulted in the design and realisation of more sophisticated, better-performing and more cost-competitive prosthetic solutions.

Prosthetic devices, like the patients who have them fitted, come in many different shapes and sizes, and the materials used to manufacture them also vary greatly - depending on the type of joint being replaced and how that particular joint needs to function.

There are a number of orthopaedic metal alloys used to manufacture prosthetic devices, and the two main materials (certainly for hip and knee joints) are titanium (including high-porous titanium) and cobalt chrome.

Both materials are lightweight, durable, and flexible, and are able to be accepted by, and function in, the body without causing an immune system reaction.

But the very characteristics that make these materials ideal for prosthetic devices also pose challenges to manufacturers – e.g. the materials are hard and often difficult to machine.

The Seco way

Finding new and better ways to solve complex machining problems is a hallmark of Seco Tools.

Through its global R & D, manufacturing and applications expertise, and by working in close partnership with many of the world’s leading prosthetic and medical implant manufacturers, Seco has pioneered and continues to develop new advanced cutting tool and tooling technology solutions used extensively to manufacture high-precision, complex medical parts (e.g. Tibial Trays, Hip Joints, Femoral Caps & Stems, General Implants etc.), to name but a few.

Here are just 3 of Seco’s latest solutions.

Jetstream Tooling™

In response to industry demands to improve the machining of difficult-to-machine alloys, Seco has developed and launched a revolutionary new coolant system - Jetstream Tooling™.
Used with standard and custom turning tools, Jetstream Tooling™, as opposed to flood coolant systems, uses an inducer to direct the flow of pressurised coolant, precisely to the cutting edge.

The system ensures that coolant is delivered exactly where it’s required (e.g. close to the cutting edge), and that heat is quickly removed from the cutting zone resulting in a more reliable, stable and efficient manufacturing process that protects the work-piece, improves tool life etc.

Furthermore, because the precise flow of coolant lifts the chip away from the rake face - increased cutting speeds can be used leading to reduced cycle times and increased productivity.

Seco Feedmax™ solid carbide drills

Seco Feedmax™ is Seco’s latest generation of high-performance solid carbide drills.

The new range offers manufacturers a unique combination of state-of-the-art solid carbide drill bodies, low-friction coatings and application-based geometries, which collectively are especially suitable for machining high-precision, complex parts made from titanium etc.

Seco Feedmax™ drills allow manufacturers to achieve higher speeds and feeds and, because of their self-centering geometries, produce improved hole quality without the need for initial centre drilling operations.

The drills, with their special TiAIN coatings and high cutting edges, deliver long tool life and helps reduce the cost per hole.

Jabro™ Solid carbide end mills

Jabro™ Solid carbide end mills provide medical component manufacturers with flexibility, speed and efficiency.
These tools are designed with a large-sized core diameter that helps improve stability and reduce deflection, and feature a polished Siron-A coating that reduces friction and heat build-up, allowing higher cutting speeds to be employed. Other features that include the tools’ Edge Prep ensure longer tool life and improved surface finish on work-pieces.

Concludes Mike Fleming, Technical & Marketing Manager at Seco Tools (UK) Ltd:

‘Manufacturers of precision medical components can stay ahead of the game with Seco Tools.

‘Our solutions deliver increased productivity and performance, and are helping Seco’s customers maintain their competitive edge in this global, fast-changing sector.’