Mikron Mill S 400 U and AgieCharmilles Laser P 400U Femto Flexipulse

GF Machining Solutions has signed a cooperation agreement with Kompetenzzentrum für Spanende Fertigung (KSF) — part of Hochschule Furtwangen, one of Germany’s leading teaching and research universities for medical engineering, to support the latter’s development of new manufacturing processes for the medical device industry.

KSF, located in Tuttlingen at the heart of Europe’s medical device industry, has a staff comprising PhD and Masters students that work on leading edge research projects sponsored by industry.

As part of the agreement, GF Machining Solutions has recently installed a new, innovative AgieCharmilles Laser P 400U Femto Flexipulse machine and a specially-adapted Mikron MILL S 400U five-axis machining centre, at KSF’s facility.

Professor Dr Bahman Azarhoushang, KSF director, said: “We are very excited to start our partnership with GF Machining Solutions and feel that the technology they offer will bring new possibilities for manufacturers from many industries. We expect to see many interesting projects being developed on this equipment.”

Equipped with both infra-red and green laser sources, the Laser P 400 U provides unrivalled control over laser bursts, including control of power, pulse form and duration. Equipped with five-axis machining capabilities and GF Machining Solutions proprietary software, the machine can assist leading manufacturers in creating unique products and open new possibilities in medical device functionality and application.

Superior traceability
Research has proven the ability of the Laser P 400 U to create a wide range of functional surfaces – including anti-bacterial and hydrophobic, as well as structures favourable for osseointegration (bone ingrowth into a metal implant). When equipped with special software, it can also create superior traceability and anti-counterfeiting solutions.

GF Machining Solutions’ medical aegment manager Erik Poulsen said: “Our cooperation with KSF will help ensure that the capabilities of our laser technology are made available to medical device organisations so that they can develop cutting edge products for patients.”

The Mikron machining centre is equipped with a ‘supercritical’ CO² cooling system from Fusion Coolant Systems, based in Michigan, USA. The Fusion Coolant Pure-Cut system, integrated with the MILL S and delivering CO₂ through the centre of the spindle, eliminates the need for traditional-type cutting fluids and dramatically helps improve milling performance, specifically speed and efficiency, when machining hard materials like titanium and stainless steels.

The technology provides significant gains in productivity whilst also reducing inherent costs and risks associated with product washing - a specific issue in medical device manufacturing.

Mr Poulsen concluded: “The Mikron MILL S is the perfect choice for this type of research – it is already used by dozens of major medical device manufacturing companies that value its precision, thermal stability and excellent dynamic performance.

“It is also a real pleasure to see this system installed and working at KSF – we feel that their ability to develop new processes will help our medical customers to realise the full benefits of both the Mikron MILL S and Fusion Coolant’s supercritical CO₂ technologies.”