When medical equipment meets laser processing, it’s too late to meet

KeLing Medical

A national high-tech enterprise established in 1996, specializing in the R&D, production and sales of medical equipment such as surgical shadowless lamps, operating tables, and survey attractors. The product sales model covers domestic sales, export sales and government procurement. Purchased a SIEME LASER single-platform metal fiber laser cutting machine and a professional fiber laser pipe cutting machine in 2020.

Corona Virus Disease 2019，COVID-19 is here, contrarian growth poses a new test"

According to data from the Foresight Economist, in 2020, the global medical device market will exceed US$500 billion for the first time, an increase of over 10%.

In China, although benefiting from the increase in aging and the increase in per capita disposable income, the sales scale of medical devices has maintained a compound growth rate of 18% since 2016, but it has never fully tested the response speed of enterprises like the arrival of the new crown epidemic.

This is exactly the strength of Keling Medical. Since its establishment in 1996, as a private enterprise, it has been able to stand firm in the market for 25 years. In addition to products, it relies on rapid response to changes. In the words of Wen Chungeng, deputy general manager of Keling Medical, "multiple varieties and small batches respond quickly."

The prevention and control of the new crown epidemic tends to be normalized, and the country has increased its efforts to transform the infectious disease wards of various medical institutions, and the demand for medical equipment including operating beds and shadowless lamps has also increased.

The requirements put forward by the end market, in addition to product quality, pay more attention to delivery speed. Coling Medical has benefited from the introduction of laser cutting processing centers and welding robots. Metal processing that used to require cumbersome and multiple procedures can now be completed on a single laser cutting machine.

At Keling, high production capacity depends on high efficiency. How fast is production now? According to Wen Chungeng, it took 7 days to complete the original 100 medical devices using the previous processing model, but now they can be completed within one day. As a result, more than 30,000 sets (sets) of medical devices are produced every year.

When laser processing is involved in design and development"

Can laser processing be involved in the R&D and design of medical devices? Yes, you heard it right.

The functional upgrade of operating room medical equipment such as operating tables and shadowless lamps is heavily dependent on the achievable degree in actual production. If it can't be realized in production, the ideal design plan can only stay in the drawings.

Keling Medical introduces laser processing into the R&D and design process of medical devices. By importing the product design graphics into the laser cutting machine numerical control system, the accuracy of 0.1mm error can be restored, so that the feasibility of new design ideas can be tested on the basis of physical samples.

When laser processing performs cutting based on imported graphics, it acts like an accurate "painter". Based on this feature, the design space of medical devices has been greatly expanded-because it has never been afraid of parts with complicated processes and difficult processing. "As long as you want it, it can do it."

"Dancing with shackles will only dance better"

Medical equipment is far different from general industrial products. It directly or indirectly affects the human body and affects human life. This determines that the country's monitoring of the industry's production process is more stringent than any other type of manufactured products.

To engage in the production and sales of medical devices in China, it is necessary to go through layers of customs clearance. First, obtain a license for the production of medical devices. Secondly, each product must obtain a product registration certificate approved by the State Drug Administration before it goes on the market.

"Each product must meet the technical requirements of the corresponding category and national mandatory standards." Wen Chungeng said.

In order to meet these standards, the accuracy of the product is not sloppy in the slightest. At this time, laser processing again plays a key role.

For example, the production of the casing of a gastric lavage machine had to rely on multiple processes such as plate cutting, punching, and polishing in the past. For another example, the chassis of the operating table is mainly composed of steel pipes, and the steel pipes need to be polished after drilling.

Even so, product consistency mainly depends on the craftsmanship of the workers, which is always difficult to guarantee.

The laser cutting machine is controlled by an intelligent numerical control system, which is far better than the hand-held operation of a skilled worker in processing accuracy. For medical devices, processing accuracy is directly related to the degree of product compliance. Only by maintaining the baseline in terms of accuracy, can the increase in productivity be meaningful.

To update the production model and build a laser processing center is not a small investment for the enterprise. However, in Keling Medical's view, it is more important to look at the long-term as a company. "It is the right investment for us to be able to achieve one pry ten."

At the same time, they also regard embracing change as one of the laws of survival. For Keling Medical, the high standards and strict requirements of the industry are not constraints, but motivations.

Dancing with shackles will only dance better.

Note: As of December 21, 2021, SIEME LASER has served more than 30 medical device companies to upgrade advanced production models and realize laser processing of precision parts