Industry Zones

Medical Machining
Medical Machining refers to all of the CNC machining related to surgical implants, orthotic devices and medical instruments. Various medical parts involve various challenges, but certain machining challenges in particular are common among medical parts. They include: ■ Small-scale machining or micromachining, because implanted devices often consist of very tiny components ■ Machining titanium, a material often used in medical devices because of its non-reactivity with the body ■ Machining plastics, because certain plastics also have this advantage ■ Custom machining, because some medical components can only be machined to specifications tailored to a particular patient’s body ■ Efficient small-batch machining, because new medical devices are developed quickly and refined through many iterations, making it necessary for machine shops to responsively provide prototype parts Medical Machining tends to be almost exclusively outsourced machining, with very little machining ever done by the OEM developing and marketing the medical device or product. This means that one additional challenge for shops that wish to participate in this market is to build, advance and maintain relationships with medical-industry customers in need of machining work.

Featured Zone Content

June 2009
Custom step drill

See The Tool's Value Instead Of Its Cost


This company is embracing high-performance tooling on its turning centers. The "sticker shock" is no reason not to do this. In one case, though, the shop found a way to limit the cost of the tool and increase productivity at the same time.

December 2009
Robot hand

Qualifying for Medical Work: Advice from a da Vinci Shop


 Swiss shop with heavy medical experience shares how to get and keep medical customers.



April 2012

Video: Additive Manufacturing at Morris Technologies

By: Peter Zelinski
A company that is advancing additive manufacturing as a production technology discusses why additive manufacturing is important right now.

March 2012

Auto EDM Wire Changers Compete at the High End

By: Matt Danford
Automatic EDM wire-change capability can improve efficiency and reduce costs for high-end tool and die work, especially parts with small internal radii.

March 2012

Shop Capitalizes on Water Over Wire

By: Modern Machine Shop
Two abrasive waterjet systems from Omax provide a cost-effective alternative to wire EDM and enable this shop to take on new work.

February 2012

A Big-Picture View of Micromachining

By: Peter Zelinski
 Matrix Tooling makes injection molds for components that have features you cannot see.

January 2012

Advancing Manufacturing, Tomorrow and Today

By: Peter Zelinski
A drilling solution improves the production of a component that is critical for correcting spinal disorders. Meanwhile, an apprenticeship program ensures that improvements like this one can continue into the future.

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