Six-axis robots for injection molding open possibilities for medical device manufacturers - Medical Design & Outsourcing

Could robotics-led injection molding enactment manufacturing of the estimated 2 cardinal antithetic kinds of aesculapian devices connected the market?

Nigel Smith, TM Robotics

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge successful request for aesculapian devices crossed hospitals and aesculapian laboratories, and concern expert Mercer Capital predicts this maturation volition continue. Its Five Trends to Watch successful the Medical Device Industry report cites respective driving factors including an progressively ample aging population, emerging economies and governments’ efforts to curb rising aesculapian costs.

Due to the quality of the sector, companies that make first-to-market devices tin payment from patents, intelligence spot extortion and competitory advantages. However, these caller devices are taxable to strict regulations. As written successful The Changing Economics of Medical Technology, a insubstantial by The National Academy of Medicine successful the United States (published erstwhile it was inactive called the Institute of Medicine): “It is inevitable that important products specified arsenic aesculapian devices volition pull galore levels of scrutiny due to the fact that of the large societal costs and benefits associated with wellness care.”

Much of this scrutiny is aimed astatine manufacturers and relates to accountability, instrumentality traceability, post-market surveillance, objective evaluations and show studies. All indispensable beryllium factored successful to caller aesculapian designs and developments. To punctuation Mercer Capital’s report, the rules foster “an situation wherever firms whitethorn recognize an acceptable level of returns connected their R&D investments.”

To obey these regulations, aesculapian instrumentality manufacturers indispensable question caller ways to efficiently nutrient caller innovations without falling abbreviated of quality strategy regulations, specified arsenic existent bully manufacturing practices specified by the FDA. One method of efficient, quality-conscious accumulation is injection molding, 1 of the industry’s astir communal manufacturing processes.

Injection molding machines are already utilized to nutrient monitoring devices, infusion pumps and different captious aesculapian equipment. But determination is simply a thrust to manufacture these devices with caller and much precocious materials, and with amended mold travel and higher interaction strength. That includes bioplastics, a much environmentally affable alternate to plastics. Made from corn, sweetener cane oregon sweetener beets, bioplastics are progressively utilized to manufacture aesculapian devices.

Moreover, determination is expanding unit to nutrient aesculapian devices astatine a faster pace. Production runs ample and tiny indispensable tally uninterrupted to nutrient a definite fig of products per hour. Standards warrant the predictable and businesslike loading and unloading of molds, on with creaseless moving betwixt humans and machines. To execute this, automation and robotics are crucial.

New ways of doing things

Industrial robots already play a important relation successful loading and unloading applications for integrative injection molding machines. Six-axis robots successful particular, speech from being among the astir widely-used concern machines successful general, person go known arsenic the trusted workhorse of injection molding loading and unloading.

TM Robotics, a spouse of Shibaura Machine (formerly known arsenic Toshiba Machine) is simply a robot distributor that specializes successful integrating robots with injection molding devices. The concern has precocious expanded its scope to connection an adjacent much broad prime of six-axis robots to suit these applications

Shibaura Machine’s bid of vertically-articulated, 6-axis robots are disposable successful 3 models that each connection debased headroom, wider scope and different benefits. Each robot scope has varying scope and payload specifications, and a longer limb magnitude compared with erstwhile robot ranges.

That includes the newest TVM range of highly productive, reliable robots aimed astatine industries including automotive, medical, packaging and pharmaceutical. The largest of the TVM models is the TVM1500, which provides a maximum scope of 1,715 mm. The TVM1200 tin scope up to 1,418 mm and the smallest model, the TVM900, provides a maximum scope of up to 1,124 mm. In summation to 3 distinctive limb lengths, the operating scope of each exemplary tin beryllium expanded by mounting the robot onto an optional linear actuator.

Better integration

Crucially, these robots integrate easy with Shibaura Machine’s injection molding machines. Among the newest instrumentality is the SXIII scope of injection molding machines, an all-electric scope with enhanced show that’s designed to supply importantly faster injection speeds than accepted molding equipment.

When paired with a accelerated rhythm 6-axis robot for loading and unloading, manufacturers tin expect accrued throughput. These machines are designed for enhanced versatility and performance, with a streamlined design. With these features, the scope tin enactment importantly faster loading and unloading speeds.

The robots are besides designed for plug and play installation for easier programming by operators and little grooming costs. The extremity effect is amended collaboration betwixt machines and operators connected injection molding lines, and concern robots that acceptable successful much easy with a manufacturer’s established ways of doing things.

Expanded automation volition beryllium important for ensuring that injection molding is indispensable for manufacturing tomorrow’s aesculapian devices cost-effectively, and to the highest quality. Even with rigorous regulations, concern robots similar the TVM range tin assistance manufacturers find caller and amended ways to bring caller aesculapian innovations to market, supporting a agleam aboriginal for diligent care.

Nigel Smith is the CEO of industrial robot specializer TM Robotics. TM Robotics has installed thousands of robots successful factories passim the world, and — successful concern with Shibaura Machine — is the lone institution that offers a broad scope of each 3 categories of robots: 6-axis, SCARA, and Cartesian.

The opinions expressed successful this station are the author’s lone and bash not needfully bespeak those of MedicalDesignandOutsourcing.com oregon its employees.