Vertical Lamination Temperature Stability & Repeatability
Machine Solutions conducted performance qualification testing on our catheter lamination system (VL series platform) to verify optimum consistency, stability and repeatability outputs of the equipment design. After the recommended 10-minute warm up period, testing results confirmed that lane to lane, run to run and machine to machine consistency of ±3˚F.
Current state:
Rudimentary and legacy market heating methods with larger windows of variability have been accepted to accomplish basic lamination needs for catheter manufacturing. As the industry grows, material and designs become more complex, along with increased requirements for process and equipment validation, higher precision controls are required. In response to the industry demand for tighter temperature control, airflow, run to run repeatability and lane to lane uniformity, Machine Solutions Inc. has released the Vertical Laminator product line. The Vertical Laminator line (VL400 – 4 lane and VL1000 – 10 lane) have been designed to be operator-friendly machines that hold consistent temperature, airflow and rate of processing output. Key design focus areas: single part heater nozzles, in-line digital flow meters, minimal foot print to maximize floor space, and State of the art control systems.
Design Solutions:
MSI’s VL product line design focuses on the following key areas to fill the increased market need and allow for optimal control and repeatable processing.
- Single part heater nozzle: Creating an air tight part to minimize thermal and airflow loss.
- In-line digital flow meters: The addition of in line digital airflow meters yield accurate flow rate measurements and enables the user more precise control and repeatability in setting machine parameters (HMI controlled airflow is also available)
- Industry standard PC based control system: Gives the user more control over the lamination process, higher safety standards, and ability to save multiple processing parameters and product/process recipes.
- Temperature standard fixture (optional; image right): is designed to allow unobstructed air flow while holding the thermocouple in the center most point of the nozzle to accurately record the temperature where product would experience heat.
