Cascade TEK Introduces Drying Process Development for Temperature- Sensitive Implantable Medical Devices [Professional Services Close – Up]

In response to medical device manufacturers' need to dry temperature-sensitive products as quickly as possible, Cascade TEK now offers "Drying Process Development."

According to a release, this service saves process and manufacturing engineers the time, trial and error of discovering the best drying process and equipment to get the job done. Once the drying process has been developed and proven, Cascade TEK can deliver an oven built to execute that process, or perform the drying process in its A2LA accredited laboratories.

Particularly challenging is the need to dry large batches of temperature-sensitive parts. In these cases, vacuum drying is the most efficient method to remove moisture.

"Since 1992 we have provided vacuum ovens for military, aerospace, medical and automotive industries and learned plenty about vacuum drying along the way. Tricks like heated nitrogen purge, fixturing/positioning, purge sequencing, temperature uniformity, etc. - all good vacuum practices that can dramatically reduce process dry time," said Mary Babitz, VP of Cascade TEK.

Other challenges include offshore facilities that need to dry production-level quantities. "Many drying processes are performed offshore or outsourced. Making sure the process is simple and consistent is another major consideration. Once the process has been defined, Cascade TEK's equipment engineers create an easy user interface with simple push-button controls and lock-outs to insure consistent results," said Mary Babitz.

Cascade TEK's vacuum drying ovens are built to execute specific vacuum drying or bake-out processes. Delivered with the controller programmed, the pump installed and with on-site start-up, ovens can be operational within hours of receipt.

Cascade TEK provides drying solutions for military, aerospace, medical and automotive industries.

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