Medical
UK & international
Developing, manufacturing and supplying sterile and non-sterile surgical instruments, equipment and parts manufactured in the UK and internationally, our client is a key supply chain partner to organisations in both public and private medical sectors worldwide.
The medical sector is ever-evolving, carrying continual demand for state-of-the-art products that enable surgical and medical procedures to be carried out efficiently and with precision. Intelligent product design which supports thorough sterilisation processes, tooling for scalable production and reliable manufacture of moulded plastics by OF Bell delivers cost-effective, versatile and UK-sourced parts to healthcare, medical and research organisations for use in theatres and laboratories, reducing lead times and production costs whilst ensuring continuity of supply to the sector’s essential service providers.
Reshoring production to OF Bell in the UK following a period of manufacture in China, our client was keen to secure a more regular, cost-effective supply of single use microscope handle cover and microscope cap products for UK and European customers.
During our initial Product Design and Development phase, OF Bell worked with our client to analyse and redesign its products for efficient and scalable manufacture, delivering a robust design capable of bulk production and carrying excellent performance characteristics.
Developing these moulded plastic products from the ground up, OF Bell’s team consulted with our client about how microscope handle covers are used by the medical sector. Identifying a need for single use products which could be cost-effectively produced, our designs should be capable of sterilisation and, in the case of the microscope caps, permit the accurate use of precision controls during surgical and other procedures.
OF Bell’s moulded plastic specialists designed a flexible microscope cap using a ‘soft-touch’, TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) medical grade material. Similar in performance and touch to a moulded rubber, caps in large and small sizes with integral ‘buttons’ allow for complete control of the microscope in a sterile field by theatre or laboratory staff. In addition, a range of large and small rigid, non-flexible microscope handle covers was also developed for sterile, non-intricate use.
Using bespoke tooling produced by our in-house tooling workshop, larger microscope caps are produced using a shot weight of 17.4g on our 35T injection moulding machine, while smaller caps use a shot weight of 6.2g on the 25T machine.
Both machines use an air blast system to eject each part from the tool, particularly the TPE moulded products which can be trickier to remove due to the tactile and flexible nature of the material. Reducing production costs, both tools designed by OF Bell feature a ‘hot runner’ system to eliminate wasted plastic from screws in the moulding process.
In regular production for a number of years, OF Bell’s injection moulding and complex miniature plastics team in Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham, dispatches around 7000, UK-manufactured parts to our client annually. During periods of increased demand, our 24/7, onshore production capabilities deliver continuity of supply that keeps surgery lists and research projects on schedule.
Designed, manufactured and continually quality-checked in-house by OF Bell, our client now benefits from security of supply and short lead times for its global medical and healthcare sector customer base, enhanced product performance when in use, and lower production costs that contribute towards positive patient experiences worldwide.