Putnam Plastics Introduces RilSlix Coatings for Medical Mandrels and Continuous Wire

Putnam Plastics Corporation, a developer of advanced extrusion technology for minimally invasive medical devices, has expanded its product portfolio to include RilSlix coated mandrels and wires. The new products incorporate a surface chemistry that has been optimized for use as a processing aid in catheter manufacturing and employ a range of fluoropolymer coatings, including the proprietary RilSlix coating. All coatings are compatible with discrete, tapered and continuous wire.
 
The RilSlix compounds have been designed with PFOA-free, REACH-compliant materials and exhibit up to five times stronger adhesion of the coating to the mandrel than industry standards. The RilSlix technology also offers unparalleled durability which enables wires/mandrels to be used repeatedly without flaking. The combination of performance, wear-resistance and longevity makes RilSlix coated mandrels a cost effective option, superior to standard fluoropolymer coated wires and mandrels. 
 
“As a catheter engineer, my team regularly utilizes coated mandrels in the manufacturing of complex catheters,” said Robert St. John, senior catheter engineer at Putnam Plastics. “These new mandrels coated from RilSlix compounds are ideal for multi-lumen catheters, reflow processes or continuous processes where mandrels are required as they are easily released and can be used over and over again without flaking.”
 
Discrete mandrel and continuous wire coating is compatible with a variety of metals including, but not limited to, stainless steel, silver plated copper, and Nitinol in diameters ranging from 0.010 inches to over 0.500 inches (0.254mm to 12.7mm). Putnam Plastics can also accommodate discrete lengths up to 13 feet (4m).
 
Putnam Plastics engineers are available to assist in material selection and optimization, ensuring that the polymer coating that is ultimately selected is best suited to meet specific product performance requirements. Samples are available in formats that will allow customers to evaluate bond strength, frictional properties and durability. Putnam Plastics also offers in-house testing for all adhesion and coating processes. By providing both manufacturing and testing under one roof, customers benefit from a reduction in lead time and access to product design that is customer specific. 
 
Putnam Plastics Corporation has developed medical tubing for nearly three decades with a focus on small diameters used for life saving vascular catheters and minimally invasive medical devices. The company offers the widest range of tubing technologies in the industry, and frequently combine these to create components at the forefront of today’s most sophisticated medical devices. Putnam Plastics’ range of equipment allows us to process traditional thermoplastics and elastomers, as well as high performance materials such as PEEK and fluoropolymers.
 
Configurations include single lumen, solid profile and monofilament, multi-lumen, multiple materials in layers or stripes, tapers and bumps, variable durometer materials along the length, wire and fiber reinforcements, and wire jacketing. The company also offers a wide range of thermoset polyimide tubing. Putnam Plastics’ fabrication capabilities include precision cutting of tubes to length, CNC grinding and lathe turning, thermal forming of tips and flares, over molding of connectors such as luers or hubs, precision drilling of holes, pad printing on tubes over a meter in length and 360 degrees around the circumference. In-house plasma treatment technologies allow for excellent ink adhesion on challenging polymers such as: polyethylene, PEEK, and thermoset polyimide.