UK moulder invests in liquid silicone resin technology
3 April 2007 – UK contract medical manufacturer Arrow Medical has invested in liquid silicone resin (LSR) technology to enable expansion of its production offering.
An investment of more than £200,000 at its facility in Kington, Herefordshire, increased Arrow’s capacity for production of moulded components for sterile medical devices and patients kits.
The company has purchased a 35-tonne Arburg injection moulding machine for the work. It will mould LSR components for use in patient sets, laparoscopy packs and other precision components for breathing equipment, medical sealing applications and products such as complex masks used in ENT surgical applications.
The LSR system and Arburg equipment provide options that allow both microparts and components to be produced with hard/soft combinations of materials. They will also allow Arrow to provide complete biocompatible encapsulation of medical devices to the standards required for implants and other devices in long term contact with the body.
Arrow Medical managing director John Johnson said the company plans to introduce clean room moulding in the near future, to add to the Class 10,000 clean room facilities it already has for medical assembly contracts.
He said: “The Arburg has been purchased as part of our project to integrate silicone moulding production with assembly facilities and other clean room contract medical facilities at Kington. Our silicone moulding operation now includes substantial capacity, with seven moulding presses devoted to precision moulded products”
