CUTTING TOOLS FOR ORTHOPAEDIC MEDICAL COMPONENTS

The proposed article illustrates Iscar's new solutions to contend with machining parts for the medical industry.

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The medical industry specialises in producing a wide range of healthcare equipment. This equipment is intended for solving a broad spectrum of health protection problems and it contains numerous parts that vary in dimensions, accuracy, material, and shape complexity. To make these parts, the medical industry utilises diverse technological processes in which machining still plays an essential role. The general principles of machining healthcare equipment parts do not differ from similar parts of non-medical mechanisms. However, there are components that require intricate machining processes. These processes are challenging and require process planning, essential machinery, and selecting the right cutting tools. Cutting tool manufacturers contend with developing unique tools to assure effective productivity and profitability solutions for medical parts production.

Orthopaedic and dental surgery components are classic examples of complex parts with challenging machining processes. Typical implant materials such as titanium alloys, cobalt-chromium (CoCr) alloys, and stainless steel are difficult-to-cut. Many implants have a complex shape, which requires multi-axis machining. The implants and their respective parts are usually small in size and are characterised by stringent dimensional tolerances and excellent surface finish. Modern high-performance small to medium multitasking machines, Swiss-type, and live-tooling lathes are the most efficient machining tools for cutting operations required for implant manufacturing. For maximising cutting output, machines require appropriate tools. When developing cutting tools for implant machining, tool manufacturers consider the mentioned features of the components to guarantee the right solution.

Cutting tools are characterized by: