When a leading medical device manufacturer designed a highly-complex component for production, they needed a manufacturing partner that could provide much more than just production capabilities. AVNA’s expertise in design for manufacturability, engineering and advanced production processes made the vision of this medical device sub-assembly a reality.
The part was a curved anvil assembly with a polar staple bucket array for a new LAR (lower anterior resection) device. Critical considerations in instrument stability, staple formation and positioning made the complex design even more challenging. Developing proprietary processes and technology specifically for this project, AVNA ’s team leveraged their engineering, precision tooling heritage and the proven production skills of their multi-disciplined team to deliver an assembly that exceeded customer expectations.
The company collaborated with the OEM on key manufacturability questions to identify processes, technologies and design optimizations that could produce the part accurately and consistently. Working together, AVNA ’s engineering, production and quality assurance teams built integrated systems that would maintain accuracy and strict in-process compliance controls. Critical design decisions ensured the anvil’s polar bucket array would remain stable, and that the staple-forming buckets would be exactly aligned.
Manufacturing the anvil required the integration of sophisticated metal forming, machining, laser welding, piercing and finishing operations. A proprietary laser system welded the part in an intricate, angled geometry, matching welds on both the top and bottom of the piece. After the welding sequence, holes with strict size and position requirements were pierced, combining complex tooling and precision technologies designed specifically for the sub-assembly’s production. At each step, custom-designed inline inspection technologies were integrated, monitoring both dimensional and surface conditions to ensure specification compliance. Custom-designed optical based vision inspection systems were implemented to maintain and verify critical component features and assembly parameters, with reportable accuracy to meet the customer’s demanding requirements.
The expertise of the AVNA team – combined with our extensive technology and equipment resources provides OEMs solutions for success. Built for excellence, our collaborative approach starts with your initial inquiry and remains consistent with your initial inquiry and remains consistent through the life cycle of your components or assemblies.
Contact us or schedule an appointment in our NexTech Labs and discover how our customer-focused collaboration will improve outcomes on your next project.
