Foothill Ranch, Calif. – U.S.A. – February 16, 2015 – Bal Seal Engineering, Inc. has expanded its line of seal materials to include SP191, a polyimide-filled polytetrafluoroethylene compound. The company says the properties of the new material make it ideal for use in gas compressors, oxygen intensifier systems, and other medical equipment requiring...
Orthopedic devices that contain canted coil springs can be cleaned by methods that meet FDA requirements. Two such validated methods are discussed below. Steve Twork, Global Market Manager, Medical Device According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), inadequate reprocessing of medical devices between patients can result in the retention of blood, tissue and...
Downhole tools are getting smarter. And while this is great news for users, it’s creating a whole new set of challenges for engineers tasked with designing them and making sure they consistently send critical well information topside. For years, electronics have been incorporated into actuators, sensors and other downhole gear to help identify...
The design of an implantable low-flow pump to treat ascites required an added level of protection against malfunction caused by the potential ingress of moisture, fibrins, large proteins, blood clots, and other organic materials. Steven Twork When engineers at a Swiss medical device company began designing an implantable low-flow pump to treat the...
Systemization reduces time to market. For years, manufacturers of neurostimulators and other active implantables have been feeling extraordinary pressure from shareholders and other funding sources to move more quickly from design stage to production. As a result, many device makers have begun searching for opportunities to integrate components as subsystems in order to...
Foothill Ranch, Calif. – U.S.A. – August 23, 2014 – Bal Seal Engineering, Inc. has expanded its line of spring-energized seals to include large diameters – up to 120 in. ID – for slow-speed rotary and reciprocating oilfield applications. Bal Seal, a global provider of custom-engineered sealing, connecting, conducting and EMI shielding solutions,...
Bal Seal Achieves NACE Compliance for Oilfield Seal Energizers Foothill Ranch, Calif. – U.S.A. – Bal Seal Engineering, Inc., a leading producer of custom-engineered sealing solutions for equipment used in oil and gas processes, has achieved NACE Level VII compliance for the Inconel® X-750 springs it employs as seal energizers. An independent organization has confirmed...
Downhole tools are getting smarter. And while this is great news for users, it’s creating a whole new set of challenges for engineers tasked with designing them and making sure they consistently send critical well information topside. For years, electronics have been incorporated into actuators, sensors and other downhole gear to help identify...
By Steve Twork Can canted coil springs meet FDA regulatory requirements or OEM cleaning validation standards? This question was posed by a client when we recommended using our spring technology in orthopedic surgical instruments. Typically, OEMs validate and verify components during feasibility testing, but feasibility failures can add cost and offset your project...
When designing orthopedic and medical devices, engineers invariably encounter the same basic challenge: they need to connect two mating surfaces in a repeatable, predictable fashion. While this may sound like a straight-forward task, there are hundreds of different ways to accomplish it. Among the traditional fastening methodologies are ball detents, snap rings, molded...
