Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Introduces New Silicone Extrusion Technology

The healthcare division of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics went back the drawing board—to make its silicone extrusion process even better. The Northboro, Mass.-based supplier of high-performance medical device components, recently unveiled its Compass Technology for silicone extrusion. 

Combining expertise in custom material compounding with high-precision silicone extrusion and fluid modeling, the company can design application-specific formulations and products in cooperation with their OEM partners. The goal? According to company officials, best-in-class tolerances in both material properties and product dimensions result in a reduced level of overall system variability.

Compass Technology provides a closed-loop system that automatically adjusts the extrusion process to reduce variation from production run to production run, while constantly monitoring in-process manufacturing data.  The in-process data is captured and available as part of a detailed data package to expedite product validation for medical device OEMs.  Extruded tubing manufactured using the technology can be used for a wide variety of medical applications, including ophthalmic pumps, enteral feeding and IV therapy.

“OEMs don’t have the time to be extrusion experts. That’s where we come in,” Robert D. Schwenker, business manager of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics’ HealthCare Markets Business, told MedicalDeviceNow, adding that as the company developed Compass Technology with critical feedback from its medical device OEM clients. “They see us as experts in this field, but their input is important so we can determine how to provide the services they need most.”

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics works with customers to translate critical needs of the application into key material properties that then can be formulated into a custom compound. The material formulations can be optimized for tear strength, compression set, elongation, modulus, and durometer.  The company also can deliver extruded solutions that meet regulatory needs for purity and low extractables.

“Due to our long history of manufacturing and material engineering with silicone, thermoplastic elastomers and fluoropolymers, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics is well suited to meet the needs of the rigorous and complex medical device market,” said Schwenker. “Our new Compass Technology platform represents our continuing commitment to developing customer solutions that enable medical device manufacturers to maintain the highest standards in the most sensitive pump applications.”

As part of Compass Technology, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics also is developing an advanced modeling platform dedicated to pump and fluid handling systems to provide insight into the effect of key variables on overall system accuracy. From physical dimensions to dynamic properties of the material, the model can serve as a predictor for new designs.

Saint-Gobain provides silicone, thermoplastic elastomer and fluoropolymer extrusion; silicone and two-shot silicone-thermoplastic molding; rapid prototyping, tooling design and build; and custom material development.