By Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief
The medical device industry is seeing a number of trends that it must address, from an aging patient population to home healthcare. One trend, however, that impacts virtually every medtech segment is the desire to shrink the size of the technologies being used by doctors, nurses, caregivers, and even the patients themselves. Of course, this must be accomplished without any loss of functionality or capability.
Fortunately, medical device suppliers are up to the miniaturization challenge. Addressing the needs for motion within these small devices is maxon’s team of engineering professionals. The company specializes in robust solutions for medical device projects, from large capital equipment through to extremely small implantables. Getting the right motion required at the right size to dispense insulin or help pump blood is no easy task.
Peter van Beek, Business Development Manager—Medical at maxon Group took time to share how maxon is doing exactly that. They offer a wide range of off-the-shelf products that could satisfy a manufacturer’s needs, but the firm also provides custom solutions for medical devices that must be small. The following Q&A provides more insight into just how this happens.
maxon offers a complete line of miniature drive systems ranging in size from 4 to 8mm. The brushless ECX series of motors has been optimized for high speeds (up to 120,000 rpm) and can withstand up to 2,000 autoclave cycles. They are easily configurable online.
Sean Fenske: What are the most common applications in which miniaturization of motors and drive electronics are being used within medtech?
Peter van Beek: maxon considers a “miniature” drive system to be in the 4 to 8mm diameter range, just to provide context to physical size. The 4mm motor is novel but most applications demand the larger torque providing 6 or 8mm diameters. maxon provides all mentioned diameters in either a DC brushed or brushless motor version. The primary applications leveraging miniaturization are in-body heart assist pumps, in-body and on-body insulin pumps, in-body valves, and in-body bone lengthening devices.
Fenske: What are the challenges associated with making miniature components and how does maxon differentiate itself from its competition?
van Beek: Again, maxon considers miniature drives to be 4 to 8mm diameter. The components used in the construction of these tiny drives are what one calls truly “miniature.” Imagine manufacturing a housing, shaft, magnet system, bearings, and sensors on a PCB for a 4mm diameter motor? One of the largest struggles in producing miniature components is the consistent struggle to stay within tolerance over time. In some cases, even measuring these miniature components is exceedingly difficult. Traditional machining techniques are not possible for components of this size but instead, need to be handmade by a highly trained and talented workforce.
maxon has a special team of veteran engineers who deal exclusively with miniature mechanisms. This group holds decades of engineering experience in selecting appropriate materials, as well as designing and manufacturing miniature components. This team has the good fortune of working with long standing component suppliers located in the center of Switzerland, in the heart of the historic watch industry. This region of the world specializes in precisely manufacturing the smallest of small—and consistently well.
maxon’s brushless ECX 4 SPEED motors with an ironless winding have an extremely large speed range, high power, excellent control characteristics, and durability. They are available in two lengths with hall sensors, encoder, or sensorless, and can be combined with gearheads.
In 2007, maxon launched a new division called “maxon medical.” The goal of this division was to solely concentrate on miniature drive systems 10mm in diameter or less. maxon medical has thrived since its inception to become an industry leader of drive systems in this size class. It is certified to ISO 13485 and utilizes cleanroom manufacturing. Procedures created to fulfill MDR/FDA quality and validation requirements are also relied upon to ensure the drive solutions meet the needs of a medical marketplace.
Fenske: What challenges does this present to maxon, your engineers, and your products? How has the performance improved over say the last 10 to 15 years?
van Beek: The largest challenge in manufacturing miniature drives, taking into account the supply chain in the past few years, is making consistent high quality products at reasonable prices and with acceptable deliveries.
If one were to compare an 8mm motor from 15 years ago to the present, the performance improvements are discernable. Most notably, the continuous torque output is higher due to the increased flux density of magnet materials and improved motor construction details. Modular and attachable gearboxes/lead screws and encoder technologies have also improved dramatically in this time, providing very useful and capable all-around servo drives. These are the modern servo drives that power and improve the lives of countless diabetics worldwide. Modern diabetic pumps have transformed diabetes, allowing patients to not only live but enabling them to actually excel. Take for example, Type 1 diabetic Linda Carrier who recently completed seven marathons, in seven days, in seven continents, and is in her sixties.
Fenske: Could you please elaborate on how a development project evolves at maxon for a miniature drive assembly?
van Beek: A kickoff meeting is held between the customer and a maxon team (regional sales engineer, medical business unit manager, and a R&D design engineer) to solidify as completely as possible every parameter requirement of the application, development timelines of the project, quality and validation requirements, risk assessment, and cost objectives. A determination is made early on whether the need can be satisfied with maxon’s large catalog product offering or if a custom solution is needed to fully address the new requirement. Typically, after an initial meeting, a drawing and a specification are sent to the customer to confirm the deliverables for functional samples. maxon uses a structured milestone charting for projects, which effectively outlines required work and validations as the project progresses from functional samples through to serial production. In the end, a strong relationship exists between maxon and its customer concerning cost, design, development, delivery, validation, change control, risk, and more.
Fenske: Do you have any closing thoughts you would like to share with medical device manufacturers?
van Beek: With the advent of many new drugs, pharmaceutical companies are desiring a lower-cost approach to deliver them less expensively. There appears to be movement away from highly sophisticated pump delivery systems, which can take many years and large capital investments to realize, to less expensive disposable models. Time will tell if the approach is a viable one. As you can imagine, the challenges for maxon are many. Historically, customers have worked exclusively with maxon to achieve the longest life possible using the best-in-class components. The challenge then becomes to manufacture high volumes of consistent quality miniature components, which, in many cases, are handmade by unique craftspeople...at lower costs. maxon is using its long, 60-year history and simple design approach to find a way.
Click here to find out more about maxon Group >>>>>
The medical device industry is seeing a number of trends that it must address, from an aging patient population to home healthcare. One trend, however, that impacts virtually every medtech segment is the desire to shrink the size of the technologies being used by doctors, nurses, caregivers, and even the patients themselves. Of course, this must be accomplished without any loss of functionality or capability.
Fortunately, medical device suppliers are up to the miniaturization challenge. Addressing the needs for motion within these small devices is maxon’s team of engineering professionals. The company specializes in robust solutions for medical device projects, from large capital equipment through to extremely small implantables. Getting the right motion required at the right size to dispense insulin or help pump blood is no easy task.
Peter van Beek, Business Development Manager—Medical at maxon Group took time to share how maxon is doing exactly that. They offer a wide range of off-the-shelf products that could satisfy a manufacturer’s needs, but the firm also provides custom solutions for medical devices that must be small. The following Q&A provides more insight into just how this happens.
maxon offers a complete line of miniature drive systems ranging in size from 4 to 8mm. The brushless ECX series of motors has been optimized for high speeds (up to 120,000 rpm) and can withstand up to 2,000 autoclave cycles. They are easily configurable online.
Sean Fenske: What are the most common applications in which miniaturization of motors and drive electronics are being used within medtech?
Peter van Beek: maxon considers a “miniature” drive system to be in the 4 to 8mm diameter range, just to provide context to physical size. The 4mm motor is novel but most applications demand the larger torque providing 6 or 8mm diameters. maxon provides all mentioned diameters in either a DC brushed or brushless motor version. The primary applications leveraging miniaturization are in-body heart assist pumps, in-body and on-body insulin pumps, in-body valves, and in-body bone lengthening devices.
Fenske: What are the challenges associated with making miniature components and how does maxon differentiate itself from its competition?
van Beek: Again, maxon considers miniature drives to be 4 to 8mm diameter. The components used in the construction of these tiny drives are what one calls truly “miniature.” Imagine manufacturing a housing, shaft, magnet system, bearings, and sensors on a PCB for a 4mm diameter motor? One of the largest struggles in producing miniature components is the consistent struggle to stay within tolerance over time. In some cases, even measuring these miniature components is exceedingly difficult. Traditional machining techniques are not possible for components of this size but instead, need to be handmade by a highly trained and talented workforce.
maxon has a special team of veteran engineers who deal exclusively with miniature mechanisms. This group holds decades of engineering experience in selecting appropriate materials, as well as designing and manufacturing miniature components. This team has the good fortune of working with long standing component suppliers located in the center of Switzerland, in the heart of the historic watch industry. This region of the world specializes in precisely manufacturing the smallest of small—and consistently well.
maxon’s brushless ECX 4 SPEED motors with an ironless winding have an extremely large speed range, high power, excellent control characteristics, and durability. They are available in two lengths with hall sensors, encoder, or sensorless, and can be combined with gearheads.
Fenske: What challenges does this present to maxon, your engineers, and your products? How has the performance improved over say the last 10 to 15 years?
van Beek: The largest challenge in manufacturing miniature drives, taking into account the supply chain in the past few years, is making consistent high quality products at reasonable prices and with acceptable deliveries.
If one were to compare an 8mm motor from 15 years ago to the present, the performance improvements are discernable. Most notably, the continuous torque output is higher due to the increased flux density of magnet materials and improved motor construction details. Modular and attachable gearboxes/lead screws and encoder technologies have also improved dramatically in this time, providing very useful and capable all-around servo drives. These are the modern servo drives that power and improve the lives of countless diabetics worldwide. Modern diabetic pumps have transformed diabetes, allowing patients to not only live but enabling them to actually excel. Take for example, Type 1 diabetic Linda Carrier who recently completed seven marathons, in seven days, in seven continents, and is in her sixties.
Fenske: Could you please elaborate on how a development project evolves at maxon for a miniature drive assembly?
van Beek: A kickoff meeting is held between the customer and a maxon team (regional sales engineer, medical business unit manager, and a R&D design engineer) to solidify as completely as possible every parameter requirement of the application, development timelines of the project, quality and validation requirements, risk assessment, and cost objectives. A determination is made early on whether the need can be satisfied with maxon’s large catalog product offering or if a custom solution is needed to fully address the new requirement. Typically, after an initial meeting, a drawing and a specification are sent to the customer to confirm the deliverables for functional samples. maxon uses a structured milestone charting for projects, which effectively outlines required work and validations as the project progresses from functional samples through to serial production. In the end, a strong relationship exists between maxon and its customer concerning cost, design, development, delivery, validation, change control, risk, and more.
Fenske: Do you have any closing thoughts you would like to share with medical device manufacturers?
van Beek: With the advent of many new drugs, pharmaceutical companies are desiring a lower-cost approach to deliver them less expensively. There appears to be movement away from highly sophisticated pump delivery systems, which can take many years and large capital investments to realize, to less expensive disposable models. Time will tell if the approach is a viable one. As you can imagine, the challenges for maxon are many. Historically, customers have worked exclusively with maxon to achieve the longest life possible using the best-in-class components. The challenge then becomes to manufacture high volumes of consistent quality miniature components, which, in many cases, are handmade by unique craftspeople...at lower costs. maxon is using its long, 60-year history and simple design approach to find a way.
Click here to find out more about maxon Group >>>>>
