Freudenberg develops new technology for measuring silicone tubes

Kaiserslautern, Germany — Medical device and components manufacturer Freudenberg Medical has developed a new technology for continuously measuring the inner geometry of silicone tubes.

"Until now, it was not possible to measure the ID of silicone tubing without making manual cuts at various cross sections, usually an off-line process," explained Max Kley, president of Freudenberg Medical, in a statement. 

The company’s new Helix iMC technology, he added, offers customers more efficiency — better control, continuous processing, and less scrap — for an overall increase in quality and a significant cost savings.

The measurement system, called Helix iMC for "inner measurement and control," significantly increases product quality for high-precision applications such as pacemaker lead insulation, according to the company release.

Helix iMC is specifically designed for medical silicone extrusion, and cuts down dramatically on material usage and process time, Freudenberg said. 

Sensor technology allows for continuous measurement of the inner geometry of extruded products such as single- or multi-lumen IDs, wall thickness, or concentricity as an inline process.

According to Freudenberg, customers who use Helix iMC benefit from continuous data monitoring across a complete production run without interruption or sample cuts. 

This results in reduced validation time and gets new products to market faster, it said.

"For critical medical devices, it is highly beneficial to have 100% control and document every critical dimension throughout an entire production run," Freudenberg said of Helix iMC.