Castings for the medical industry
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Investment casting is a process with a wide range of applications. It manufactures castings for a variety of industries and sectors, from automotive and aerospace to military and defense. This manufacturing technique is also used to make castings for the medical industry.
In fact, many medical devices and mechanical parts are produced using investment casting. The Dean Group has long been manufacturing castings for the industry and has developed a large number of castings (including aluminum based castings) for a variety of applications in the industry.
Precision Casting in the Medical Field
Producing parts for the medical industry starts with understanding its strict regulations: Any tools, machines and equipment used in it must meet specific and strict requirements for product quality, hygiene and durability. In the medical industry, one defective part or assembly can be the difference between life and death, so meeting the industry's high standards at all times is critical.Investment casting is widely used in the medical industry because it can deliver parts with a smooth surface finish and tight tolerances as well as complex designs, all of which are critical to healthcare.
The process helps create components that can be used in many different areas of the medical field. For example, castings can improve the quality of care and shorten recovery times for patients, create increasingly advanced prosthetics to improve their quality of life, assist in life-saving procedures, and more.
By choosing investment casting, it is possible to manufacture components with high dimensional accuracy and thin walls. Castings can also be produced in a variety of sizes, meaning they can be used in many different contexts; for example, a smaller casting might be part of a surgical instrument, while a larger component could make up a piece of equipment.
Nor is there a one-size-fits-all process. At Dean Group we are able to manufacture castings to meet your specific requirements and we do this by offering a number of different investment casting processes.
Medical casting
Castings manufactured by the investment casting process are of high precision and complexity and can be made from corrosion-resistant alloys, an important requirement for medical castings, or alloys that bond well to tissue, such as titanium.Biocompatibility is critical, as is the ability to manufacture very small parts and custom shapes for specific medical products – all of which can be achieved with investment casting. The process can also cast different grades of alloys that are otherwise difficult to machine.
Popular materials for medical castings include stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, nickel and copper, and their alloys. Most castings will likely use stainless steel or aluminum because of the properties these metals have - their corrosion resistance properties make them the preferred choice, and they are durable and, in the case of aluminum, very lightweight.
Some medical devices also require components that can handle heat. Electrical devices are becoming more sophisticated, but that means the electronics inside them need to be just as sophisticated. For example, preventing electronics from overheating is critical to maintaining their performance, so medical castings can sometimes be made from materials that dissipate heat.