To create precise features in materials such as bioabsorbable polymers, shape memory metals, and alloys, Norman Noble Inc. (Highland Heights, OH) has introduced Noble UltraLight.

Noble UltraLight is an ultrashort pulse laser that doesn’t generate any heat-affected zone. It offers an advancement in the manufacture of stents, drug-delivery systems, catheters, valves, and needles, the company says, because it enables the machining of parts with minimal variability and eliminates the introduction of heat inherent in traditional thermal laser manufacturing. The lack of heat helps to reduce or even eliminate deburring and postprocessing steps.

“A laser system capable of cutting the tightest, most intricate geometry through virtually any material without generating any thermal damage to the material was once unimaginable to most design engineers,” says Chris Noble, vice president of Norman Noble. “Engineers had to design their products around removal of this thermal damage and or use less than optimal materials.”

According to Norman Noble, the athermal laser machining process can increase product quality and yield. It is available through a fully dedicated laser prototype department, “which enables our customers to receive small quantities of test parts quickly to help them finalize their designs most efficiently,” the company says.

Norman Noble says that it continues to invest in equipment and manufacturing technologies that help its customers launch next-generation products. It hopes to “continue to grow the company at an annual rate of 20% per year through the development of unique manufacturing processes.”

Norman Noble manufactures medical devices and implants to customer specifications. In addition to laser machining, it offers such processes as welding, Swiss turning and milling, conventional and wire EDM, and high-speed seven-axis contour milling. Nitinol shape setting, cleanroom assembly and packaging, and prototype services are also available. —Lindsey Rooney