Assembly - February 2009 - (Page 59) Advertisement Advertisement CASE STUDY Medical Device Maker Relies on EFD® Dispense Valves To Improve Process Control leading manufacturer of disposable medical syringes with retractable needles depends on EFD dispense valves and valve controllers to make a critical deposit of UVcure adhesive. Each stainless steel needle, or cannula, must be bonded to a polypropylene hub with a specific amount A leading medical syringe manufacturer of adhesive. The ability relies on EFD dispense valve systems to regulate, document to make consistent deposits of UV-cure and repeat the amount adhesive. of adhesive deposited in each hub’s recess is extremely important. Underapplication could result in the cannula separating from the hub during injection or retraction. Overapplication must also be avoided, since excess adhesive could prevent the needle from retracting to protect healthcare personnel from accidental needle sticks after administering the injection. To make these critical deposits, the company relies on EFD’s 741 Series dispense valves and dedicated, microprocessor-based EFD VALVEMATE™ valve controllers that allow each valve’s dispense time setting to be adjusted in increments as small as 0.001 seconds. The company has found the EFD valves to be fast, efficient and, most important, accurate and repeatable—a tremendous help in maintaining process control. “The EFD systems make it very easy for us to set specific operating parameters,” according to the production manager. “We needed something that was extremely accurate and easily validated, and we found it. With a lot of equipment, when you shut down at the end of the day and start up again the next morning, it’s hard to duplicate the results you got the day before. With EFD systems, we never have that problem.” EFD, Inc. 40 Catamore Boulevard East Providence, RI 02914 401-431-7000 Fax 401-431-7079 info@efd-inc.com www.efd-inc.com/pr/asm-0209 Ellsworth Develops “Cold Solder” Process A onnecting wires to flexible circuits can be a challenge. The high temperatures used in conventional solder methods can damage substrate materials. Solder alternatives, silver-filled conductive epoxies, cure in hours versus the much shorter assembly times provided by solder techniques. Ellsworth Adhesives recently worked with a customer bonding wires to silver coated PET. The customer needed a fast assembly method that would not damage flexible circuit materials, but would provide high-durability connections and maximum conductivity. The solution involved using a UV cure urethane in combination with a silver-filled epoxy. Step one of the process was to connect the wire to the silver circuit and apply the silver-filled epoxy over the connection. Step two was to dispense a small drop of UV encapsulant over the epoxy/wire/substrate connection. While holding the connection together, the assembly was then exposed to UV light. The rapid UV cure fixtured the assembly together holding the wire and flex circuit together with the filled epoxy connection. With the connection in place, the epoxy was then cured using a prescribed cure schedule. Ellsworth was able to provide the epoxy in two forms, premixed and frozen in syringes and in two component flexible packaging for transfer to one component syringes. For further information call 800-888-0698 and ask for Technical Service. C www.assemblymag.com February 2009 / ASSE M B LY 59 http://www.efd-inc.com/pr/asm-0209 http://www.assemblymag.com
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