That's the challenge Fort Wayne Metals embraces every day. While the classical tools of heat, hammer, fire, and forge have evolved into vacuum arcs, electron beams, and plasma-based melting technologies, the objective remains unchanged: creating materials with predictable, repeatable performance.

As workers of metal, Fort Wayne Metals is advancing metallurgy and materials science for lifesaving, life-changing applications. By controlling everything from source metals and melting practices to solidification and downstream processing, we can influence composition, microstructure, and mechanical performance from the very beginning. The result: specialized alloys and wire-based forms tailored to the exact requirements of life-changing medical devices.

Creating an advanced metal for wrought subcomponents with repeatable performance requires the following:

·       Verified insight into source metals

·       Best-practice consolidation techniques

·       Purity and uniformity influence

·       Heat source (liquefaction)

·       Heat sink (solidification)

·       Chemical and physical impacts

·       An understanding of follow-on process-property control

These factors, at minimum, are at the core of advanced metal development. It is for this reason that we maintain an array of customizable tools at your disposal. Practically speaking, what exactly are we able to do, and how quickly?

Here’s an example: we conceived of a new radiopaque cobalt alloy on a Monday, and by Thursday, we were already tensile testing 100 μm [0.004 in] wire. That kind of speed is possible because of the breadth of melting, processing, and characterization capabilities housed within our R&D operation.

Here's a look at the melting capabilities that make it possible:

Vacuum induction melting:

·       Quantities: 100 g quick iteration up to 5 kg (alloy dependent)

·       Crucibles: Alumina, zirconia, graphite, and susceptible crucibles

·       Atmospheres: Vacuum or partial pressure atmospheres

·       Mold: Cold copper molding or other possibilities (such as pre heat)

·       Example development areas: CoNiCr + X + Y, custom stainless steels, pre-alloyed Nitinol alloys, magnesium alloys

Button melter (Vacuum arc):

·       Quantities: 50 – 300 g quick iteration

·       Cold copper hearth plate, multi-melt capable

·       Atmospheres: Vacuum

·       Mold: Mold in hearth with varied forms

·       Example development areas: Titanium and titanium-alloys; shape memory alloys (e.g., Nitinol), refractory metals (tantalum, tungsten, niobium); nickel or cobalt-based superalloys

Arc 500 – Arc/plasma system:

·       Quantities: 200 g quick iteration, up to 10+ kg (alloy dependent)

·       Crucible: Cold copper

·       Mold: Cold copper single pour or concasting

·       Example development areas: Titanium and titanium-alloys; shape memory alloys (e.g., Nitinol), refractory metals (tantalum, tungsten, niobium); nickel or cobalt-based superalloys

“Forge” tools to work after casting and interrogate performance:

·       Varied swage, roll, and draw deformation equipment (0.010 to 50 mm+ [0.0004 mm to 1.9685 in]

·       Extrusion and rolling through trusted partners

·       Precision carbide, diamond, varied lubrication, and size draw capacities

·       Boutique capability to machine tubes, build metal-metal composites, machined, or formed components

·       Integrated microstructural, chemical, and physical property interrogation techniques

For wrought metals — materials that are further processed into the final form, fit, and function of a medical device — what happens after melting is just as important as the melt itself. To achieve specific mechanical, chemical, or performance targets, melting and downstream processing must work together as one integrated system.

The structure created during solidification serves as the starting point for everything that follows. As a material is rolled, drawn, swaged, heat-treated, and finished, that structure evolves. These changes ultimately influence important performance characteristics such as fatigue resistance, strength, dimensional consistency, and long-term stability.

That's why Fort Wayne Metals takes an integrated approach to material development. By combining advanced melting technologies with expertise in cold reduction, tooling design, annealing, surface finishing, and materials characterization, we can help accelerate development and reduce trial and error.

Categories: Medical Device Innovation