Originally Published MPMN November 2002

EQUIPMENT NEWS: Welding and Sealing

Tabletop Heat Sealer Fitted with Quick-Change Tooling

A tabletop heat sealer designed for medical device, clinical trial, and pharmaceutical applications features a single-sided aluminum-roller shuttle tray with locating pins to accommodate quick-change-style seal tools. The machine is designed by Zed Industries for the production of packaging that uses thermoformed trays with Tyvek lidstock, carded pill packs, unit doses, foil lids, and conventional carded blister packs. Standard features include controls, components, and peripherals that can help to establish validation protocols and ensure repeatability.

For volume production requiring automatic card, blister, or product feeders, the company offers an in-line heat sealer with a conveyor system. Features include a precision indexing electric-motor chain drive, four-post heat-seal press, and touch screen interface. The unit is available in several sizes and lengths, and with numerous custom options to meet a range of applications.

Zed Industries, 3580 Lightner Rd., Vandalia, OH 45377.

An Affordable Ultrasonic Generator Meets Current and Future Needs

An affordable ultrasonic generator features time and energy welding, a four-line LCD, and a modular design that lets users install additional modules as needed. The DPC II Plus generator from Dukane Corp. includes the Plug-and-Weld system, which recognizes modules as they are added or removed from the system and automatically reconfigures the user interface. New hot keys provide one-step access to frequently used commands.

A timer module that can store up to eight setup files controls weld, hold, and after-burst times; energy-mode welding is controlled by a power signal module. A multipoint control module is available as an option.

The heavy-duty chassis has a flow-through cooling tunnel to enhance reliability. A universal power supply automatically switches from 95–130 to 190–260 V ac, and the generators are available in 100–2200-W power ranges covering the 20–70-kHz frequency range.

The company also recently introduced a 30-kHz ultrasonic welding system for applications that require greater amplitude and power than can be supplied by conventional 40-kHz systems, yet are too delicate for 20-kHz welders. It provides up to 1500 W of power, and is available in probe and press-and-thrust configurations.

Dukane Corp., 2900 Dukane Dr., St. Charles, IL 60174.

Power Supply Combines Plasma and TIG Welding

Up to 100 weld sequences can be programmed in a power supply that offers the flexibility of plasma or tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. Because it can store so many weld sequences, the fully transistorized PlasmaFix P+T power supply from Process Welding Systems Inc. ensures consistent repeatability of welding parameters. Welding ranges are 0.1–50 A for plasma at a 100% duty cycle, and 0.8–50 A for TIG at a 60% duty cycle using a soft-arc start.

The power supply can be used for manual welding with a foot pedal or in automated applications with a positioning device or similar external component.

The company offers a number of welding units and accessories to automate in-place processes. In addition to power supplies, positioning devices, weld controllers, plasma torches, and standard and custom tips are available. Technical support and custom system designs are offered.

Process Welding Systems Inc., 72 Buchanan St., LaVergne, TN 37086.

Heat Sealer Meets FDA Guidelines

A hot-air band sealer with validation features has been designed to comply with FDA guidelines. The OK Medicalbandsealer seals numerous packaging materials typically used by the medical device industry, including noncoated and coated Tyvek, laminated foil, metalized foil bags, paper and plastic combinations, and a range of polymers.

The unit designed by OK International Corp. has a stainless-steel construction and advanced air-flow and process controls to ensure continuous-duty performance in demanding applications.

The company also offers a hot-air continuous sealer with high heat capacity for the high-speed processing of thick bags. Setup and adjustment procedures have been simplified. The OK Supersealer HT has the same construction and process features as the medical-grade band sealer.

OK International Corp., 73 Bartlett St., Marlborough, MA 01752.

Laser Units Can Spot and Seam Weld

Turnkey laser welding systems are designed for prototype and small-quantity production use. Suited for processing medical components, the Universal Workstation series attains spot sizes down to 50 µm and features optimized pulse-to-pulse stability. The laser workstations are routinely used for spot- and seam-welding operations involving pacemakers, contact wires, and defibrillators. Available with up to 4 axes, the workstations can be integrated with a wide range of the company's lasers and optical configurations. Rofin-Sinar, Inc., 40984 Concept Dr., Plymouth, MI 48170.

Form-Fill-Seal System Comes with Validation Package

A horizontal form-fill-seal system designed for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries produces packages with tight sterile seals. Suited for packaging catheters, syringes, sutures, swabs, and related devices, the Integri-Seal machine from Circle Packaging Machinery Inc. features a touch screen–operated seal-validation system. It enables users to monitor speed and single-point pressure during normal operation and at process setup.

The system is offered in a single- or dual-lane configuration. Quick changeovers, single-point temperature and pressure control, and a long-dwell traveling cross-seal with touch screen temperature control are among the features. Operation parameters with date and time identification can be printed out.

Circle Packaging Machinery Inc., 3354 S. Ridge Rd., Green Bay, WI 54304.

Copyright ©2002 Medical Product Manufacturing News