FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fotofab Adds Nitinol and Zirconium Fabrication Capabilities
Lower tooling costs, design flexibility: Fotofab continues to deliver to medical device designers
Chicago, IL - August 24, 2006. Fotofab, a leading supplier of photochemically machined precision thin-metal parts, announced today that it has added the manufacturing of custom Nitinol and Zirconium components to its long list of high-value fabrication capabilities. Both medical-friendly metals are imperative to the medical market because of its superior strength and biocompatibility characteristics.
The U.S. remains the largest medical device market and leads the world in advanced medical technologies. According to Frost & Sullivan, the worldwide medical devices market is estimated at more than $140 billion, with the United States being the largest market with a compound annual growth rate about 8 percent (since 2004). Many of Fotofab's medical customers will be a part of this growth as they continue to develop and introduce new, innovative devices in the minimal invasive surgery, cardiovascular and orthopedic implant segments.
In addition to etching titanium (another bio-compatible metal frequently used in the medical device market), offering Nitinol and Zirconium to the rapidly expanding medical device market will benefit many companies that rely on Fotofab as a quality metal parts supplier.
Other materials that are significant to the medical industry include stainless steels such as alloy 316L and specific stainless steels designed for implants. In some cases, the specialty stainless steels are not corrosive resistant as Zirconium and Titanium, so a variety of available metals such as Nitinol and Zirconium offers design flexibility to medical device engineers.
"We heard the demand for chemically etched Nitinol and Zirconium parts through our medical device customers," says Fotofab CEO, Dan Brumlik. "We already deliver precision Titanium and specialty stainless steel components, so adding the technology to etch Nitinol and Zirconium was a natural step forward in serving our medical OEM customers."
Fotofab chemically etches metal thicknesses as thin as 0.0002" (0.005mm). Features such as holes or slots can be etched as small as 0.004" (0.1mm) and even smaller features can be manufactured with Fotofab's added laser capabilities.
Benefits of Fotofab's photochemical machining process include lower cost, faster delivery, and greater parts design flexibility. Compared to traditional forms of manufacturing (such as stamping), the tooling is only a fraction of the overall cost. Lower tooling costs give medical device designers the freedom to create multiple versions of a certain part quickly and the latitude to explore design variations economically. Fotofab can etch over 50 alloys in total, with stainless steel, nickel silver, copper, brass, nickel, and steel being the most common.
For more information on Fotofab's precision parts fabricating capabilities and to review Fotofab's Design Guide: http://www.fotofab.com/designguide.php
About Fotofab
Founded in 1967, Fotofab continues to refine the photochemical machining process, (also known as chemical etching or milling) to produce custom precision metal parts in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner. A veteran supplier to the aerospace, automotive, defense, electronic, telecommunications, and medical manufacturing industries, Fotofab is among the leading suppliers of precision metal parts including RF/EMI shields, electrical contacts, screens, connector housings, and more. Fotofab is ISO 9001:2000 certified.