Pulsable Nd:YAG lasers are well suited for manufacturing miniature and highly precise medical devices, instruments, and implants. Conventional machining manufacturing processes usually can't handle the unusual geometries and hard-to-machine materials of such components. Nd:YAG machines, however, tackle cutting, welding, and marking of medical devices made from materials including stainless steel, platinum, gold, and titanium.

And, better yet, they do so with high flexibility for product variety and small lot sizes. For example, a laser can be shared among several workstations for various component and sub-component processing, such as spot welding to secure electrical contact inside a pacemaker. Nd:YAG lasers feature a small focus-spot size for a minimal heat-affected zone. And they leave immaculate, hygienic surfaces free from burrs, grooves, and debris. Jobs well-suited for the lasers include:

Cutting tubes

Pulsed Nd:YAGs are used in cutting tubes while fabricating endoscopic instruments. They cut both radial and non-radial tubes without damaging opposite walls. The lasers also cut unconventional 3D geometries.

Welding components

Low power, compact Nd:YAG lasers work well in welding supply tubes to endoscopes with fully automated machines where parts get fed, welded, and moved to a next operation. Semi-automated workstations provide another option in which operators manually load parts, hit the start button, and take out finished components.

Machines equipped with multiple laser outputs (via laser light cables) can weld tube-to-tube joints with minimum distortion. For example, a machine of this sort welds four longitudinal seams on an endoscope shaft simultaneously. Resulting seams have an accurate surface quality that is functional as well as visuallyappealing.

Highly focusable Nd:YAGs also handle the spot welding of titanium aneurysm clips. A tiny plate or rod gets spot welded to a clip jaw, providing a smooth surface and positive fit.

Overlap welding with pulsed Nd:YAGs is the ideal manufacturing process for joining the seams on titanium housings of implantable pumps, heart defibrillators, and cardiac pacemakers. The lasers produce the required biocompatible, hermetic seal. Also, the lasers don't burn through the material or over-heat internal components. Both effects are unacceptable because of sensitive electronics inside, which also require that internal temperatures stay below 50C during welding.

Marking and micromarking for traceability

Diode-pumped Nd:YAGs work well marking products with identification and traceability codes. The process is fast and flexible, and marks are abrasion-resistant. In contrast to other marking techniques, laser marking provides the essential biocompatibility and high-temperature sterilization characteristics required for medical implants and devices. Marks have no grooves or burrs that let germs or residual material get into patients. And laser marking is perfect for data matrix codes, which are increasingly being used for product identification, even on small surfaces.