Micro-cutting Machine for Polymer Catheters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current micro-cutting machines for manufacturing catheters and guidewires are limited in precision, unable to control small features reliably, and can only work with electrically conductive materials, making them inadequate for producing flexible and torquable devices from non-conductive materials like plastic.
Innovation Solution
A micro-cutting machine with dual blades that simultaneously cut both sides of cylindrical stock material, capable of precise control over the width of resultant beams and able to cut non-conductive materials such as plastic, using a combination of electronic controllers, a central processing unit, and an imaging system for precise positioning and measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If current single-blade micro-cutting machines are used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the manufacturing precision is insufficient and reliability is poor for controlling small features
Solution Approach 1:
The single blade is divided into two separate blades positioned on opposite sides of the stock material. Each blade independently cuts one side of the material, allowing precise control over the width of the resultant beam by adjusting the relative positions of the two blades. This segmentation enables better manufacturing precision for small features while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular blade design.
Solution Approach 2:
An imaging system is integrated to measure the actual width of the resultant beam after cutting. The measured dimension is fed back to the control system, which adjusts the blade positions accordingly to achieve the desired beam width. This feedback mechanism significantly improves manufacturing precision and reliability for controlling small features.
2Adaptability or versatility
If electrical conductivity sensing is used for cutting, then the cutting process is automated, but non-conductive materials like plastic cannot be processed
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical conductivity sensing system is replaced with an optical imaging system that visually detects and measures the position and dimensions of the stock material and resultant beam. This substitution eliminates the limitation of requiring conductive materials, enabling the machine to process non-conductive materials like plastic while maintaining automated cutting capabilities through optical feedback control.
3Manufacturing precision
If pre-programmed depth cuts are made without real-time measurement, then the cutting process is fast, but the manufacturing precision for resultant beam width is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging system performs preliminary measurement of the resultant beam width immediately after the cutting action. This allows the control system to verify and adjust the blade positions before the next cutting cycle begins, ensuring manufacturing precision without significantly increasing the overall cutting cycle time. The preliminary measurement enables real-time optimization of beam width control.
Data Source
AI summary
Polymer catheters and guidewires for use in intravascular surgery, and more particularly polymer catheters and guidewires micro-machined with a micro-cutting machine to provide sufficient flexibility to travel through a patient's vasculature while retaining sufficient torquability to transmit torque from a proximal end to the distal end of the catheter or guidewire, and methods of producing the same.