Page 20 - MetalForming July 2009

Do You Have What It Takes to Move into the
Medical Market?
Medical-product OEMs and suppliers paint the picture:
An expanding market for metalformed parts and assemblies, requiring suppliers well-versed in quality management, loaded with design expertise, and equipped to provide short
lead times and custom products. Do you see yourself in the picture?
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
An aging population that expects increased quality of life through more and better treatment options continues to
feed the healthy and rapidly growing medical-device and
supply industry. U.S. manufacturing companies supply-
ing this market with monitors, drug-delivery systems, ther-
apeutic devices, surgical instruments and appliances, and
other products have catapulted the country to a position of
global leadership. In some areas, that leadership position astonishes—for example, the United States accounts for
60 percent of the world’s market for minimally invasive medical devices, according to a recent survey from Themedical (www.themedica.com). Overall, the survey finds, the global market for medical devices (including instruments) is forecast to yield $201.6 billion in 2010, with several seg-
ments forecast to grow at an annual rate of 7 to 10 percent or more over the next several years.
Trends governing the growth of this lucrative industry? There are more doc- tors and dentists than ever before. And, more and more patients expect portabil- ity from their devices, to deliver care at
This progressive die (with strippers removed for clarity) was developed by Oberg Industries and runs at its plant in Sarver, PA, to produce five different sizes (four shown here, above) of frame stampings for a Covidien TA DST Series open surgi- cal stapler. Oberg developed two dies for the stapler, one to make right-hand frames and the second to make left-hand frames. Each die comprises 19 sta- tions and runs at 70 strokes/min. in a 300-ton Minster E2-300 Hevi-Stamper mechanical press. Material is fed through a Herr-Voss precision leveler to help maintain part-flatness tolerances of ±0.002 in./1.000 in. Also critical is true hole position, to ±0.002 in.; maximum burr height is 0.002 in. Shown in the close-up photo is the punch shoe, with stripper removed.
18 METALFORMING / SPECIAL ONLINE-ONLY ISSUE 2009 www.metalformingmagazine.com