Page 25 - Metalorming Magazine January/February 2023

energy usage, sets minimum efficiency requirements and manages the testing stan- dards by which those efficien- cies are measured. As a result of its most recent analysis, the DoE is increasing the mini- mum efficiencies for central air conditioners and heat pumps.”
Exemplifying the impact
of the new regulations, Carrier
in mid-2022 launched a new
line of single-stage split-sys-
tem air conditioners compli-
ant with the upcoming DoE minimum-efficiency require-
ments and test procedures.
The units feature patented welded-alu- minum coils, along with decreases in height, base-pan size and weight.
Among other noteworthy enhance- ments made by HVAC suppliers: Trane’s debut of an all-aluminum spine-fin design for its variable-speed inverter heat pump, to enhance air flow and heat transfer compared to conventional copper and aluminum coils; and Lennox introduced a prototype cold- climate heat pump, designed to warm homes in the northern U.S., which employs a supersized compressor that uses vapor-injection technology.
Medical
“Delayed and cancelled elective sur- geries, long lead times, significantly higher costs—this has been the unfor- tunate state of affairs,” reads a newly produced whitepaper, Looking Ahead: Risk Outlook for the Medical Supply Chain, from FTI Consulting. “Extensive and unprecedented supply-chain dis- ruptions in the medical-device industry have materialized and sustained over the last 30 months, including raw- material shortages, labor challenges, sterilization constraints and concerns surrounding device security and cyber- security.”
For example, “Elective surgeries were and remain our bread and butter... we saw an 82 percent decline in sales during the pandemic,” the whitepaper quotes Howard Levy, vice president of
manufacturers involved in polymers rely on ethylene oxide (EtO), with EtO used to sterilize more than 50 percent of U.S. products made from polymers. However, regula- tors have EtO, designated as a human carcinogen, in their sights. Alternative steriliza- tion methods include steam and dry heat, radiation, vaporized hydrogen peroxide and other gases.
The Russian-Ukrainian War, FTI Consulting reports, is testing supply of critical raw materials used in med- ical-device production, stem-
ming from import restrictions, con- centration of production in relatively few countries and decades of bilateral dependency.
We do see manufacturers investing to meet expected demand. For exam- ple, Okay Industries, a New Britain- CT a contract manufacturer of metal and plastic overmolded components and subassemblies for global medical- device OEMs, recently announced a major expansion of its Costa Rica oper- ations. Phase one includes building a 62,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Alajuela Province, Grecia—to be completed by summer 2024. This will double the company’s current Costa Rica manufacturing footprint. Future phases will allow Okay Industries to expand an additional 58,000 sq. ft. And in another case, two of three new straightside presses recently added to the East Hanover, NJ, facility of metal former Weiss-Aug are dedicated to spe- cific medical-product lines, including a device used in laser corrective-eye surgery.
Medical-device manufacturers con- tinue exploring and implementing additive manufacturing (AM) in their processes. Expect the worldwide AM prosthetics market to show an 8-per- cent CAGR from 2023 onward and reach $3.5 billion by 2033, according to Future Market Insights. In 2023, North America will account for 40 per- cent of worldwide revenue share. MF
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This stamped titanium staple for a medical-vascular-sealing appli- cation represents a core competency at Okay Industries. The Connecticut-based contract manufacturer is in the midst of a major expansion of its Costa Rica manufacturing operations.
global sourcing and instruments at Zimmer Biomet.
Despite such challenges, the near- term future seems promising in the medical-manufacturing arena. The global medical-device manufacturing outsourcing market —led by North America—is estimated to grow by more than $46.2 million from 2022 to 2027 at a CAGR of 10.85 percent, according to a report from Technavio. Major trends in the market: a growing focus of OEMs on reducing medical-device manufacturing costs; growing com- plexities in product design and devel- opment; and emerging countries as a preferred outsourcing destination for medical-device manufacturing. Chal- lenges listed by Technavio include a stringent regulatory environment, intense market competition, and delays in contractual obligations and the upgrading of technologies.
For years to come, expect the inte- gration of smart connected care; broad- ening of diagnosis and therapy into new settings; and improvement of chronic disease outcomes to continue shaping the market, according to a 2023 outlook from In Vivo. Just as with other markets, medical must navigate supply-chain, inflation and workforce stresses.
Specific to medical-device manu- facturing are issues revolving around sterilization procedures and materials, according to FTI Consulting. Many