A trio of Starrag Bumotec multi-axis, multi-tasking machining centres are helping Shanghai Medical Instruments to maintain its 50% market share in China for medical instruments by finish machining up to six faces in a single set-up. The company highlights its latest Bumotec – the five-axis s181 model with ‘front live tools’ on a sub-spindle as being able to boost productivity by 20% on some parts.
Capable of producing components from bar up to 65mm diameter, and with up to seven-axis simultaneous machining in a single set-up, Bumotec machines are capable of drilling, thread forming, grinding, gear-cutting and broaching as well as turning and milling. A member of the Yuwell Group, the company annually produces over 10 million medical parts. The components are produced in limited batches of 200 to 300-off with a product catalogue of more than 8,000 items, which includes the JZ brand as well as knives, scissors and surgical clamps and micro instruments for anastomosis.
Its well-equipped workshops allow the process to be very flexible and responsive – and the prototyping and production of certain parts is a key area for the Starrag-supplied Bumotec machining centres (models s192, s181, s191), the first of which was installed in 2005. A range of 500 different types of minimally invasive and ENT instruments are machined in a single set-up from bar on the Bumotec machining centres. It was found that ‘conventional’ separate processes/machines were not able to produce these components effectively, especially in terms of consistent quality.
In fact, production of separate parts for an orthopaedic instrument assembly are now produced with high-accuracy, ready for assembly by a Bumotec s191 rather than the former route of using a lathe, a mill then an electrical discharge machine to finish the parts to the required standard. The Bumotec s191H can achieve +/-2.5micron accuracy courtesy of linear drives and high-level thermal stability. In addition, its main spindle is complemented by a sub-spindle that can turn in both horizontal and vertical planes.
