Lasers and Extruded Tubing

Extruded tubing is a commonly used component in medical devices. It is manufactured from a variety of materials and in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Important chemical and physical properties include heat and chemical resistance, lubricity, flexibility, kink resistance, and drug-eluting capabilities. Laser micromachining is a high-precision process that can make a variety of micron-sized features that enhance the functionality of our tubing offerings. In fact, lasers can cut complex features in tubing that cannot be made with any other process.

High-precision laser methods that are frequently used for medical tubing include:

• Laser ablation— “vaporizes” material from the tubing’s surface at the micron level, with little or no negative thermal or structural damage to surrounding material
• Laser cutting—cuts miniaturized, complex features as small as 0.0002 inches (5 microns) with no heat effects, in a variety of materials
• Laser drilling—common requests include micron-size holes, spiral arrays, blind wells, and specialized portals that can be drilled in a variety of patterns with the highest precision, without burrs

Medical applications for laser-machined extruded tubing include:

• Cutting tight-tolerance tubing to length
• Reducing the outer diameter of medical tubing
• Enhancing flexibility with spiral cuts and patterns
• Providing clearance for marker bands
• Exposing inner satellite lumens
• Drilling hole arrays in filter membranes
• Reinforcing surgical components
• Drug delivery, irrigation, and infusion products
• Catheter components