Case Studies

Pointing of Hypodermic Needles

Client: Major Medical Device Manufacturer

Background:
Hypodermic needles are traditionally manufactured using conventional grinding techniques. The point consists of three facets, the primary bevel and two lancets.

After the three facets have been machined the point is glass bead blasted and electro-polished. These operations remove any unwanted burrs and round the heel of the primary bevel. The bead blasting operation is expensive, problematic and difficult to control. The grinding operation of the primary bevel is slow because that is where most of the material is removed, i.e. it represents 90% of the total volume.

Manufacturing Challenge:
The challenge in manufacturing hypodermic needles lies in controlling the process so that the results are repeatable. The parts are made is very large volumes. The annual world requirement is in the ten's of billions.

Solution:
Everite designed and built a custom production line for the production of hypodermic needles using Electrochemical Grinding Equipment technology. The primary bevel is formed using Electrochemical Grinding Equipment and therefore eliminates the necessity to bead blast the finished product. The heel is rounded naturally and with great process control. The lancets continue to be ground abrasively so that needle sharpness is not compromised. Because most of the material is removed electrochemically and since no bead blast is required, consumable cost is dramatically reduced compared to conventional methods, and process throughput is greater because of improved efficiency. Each line can produce approximately 16 million pointed cannula per month.

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