Fort Wayne Metals - Technical Blog

Braided wire: Balancing size and strength to optimize medical device performance

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 Z

The webinar highlights several recent developments aimed at helping medical device manufacturers address the growing demand for smaller, stronger, and more reliable devices. The presentation covers stainless steel round wire, ultra-strength material offerings, multi-end spooling capabilities, flat wire products, and advanced surface finish options. With capabilities ranging from 0.0127 mm to 13.97 mm [0.0005 in to 0.55 in] diameter wire, Fort Wayne Metals continues to support applications across guidewires, braids, catheters, strands, cables, and other critical medical device components.

A major focus of the webinar is the development of ultra-strength materials, including both 304V stainless steel and tungsten. These materials were created to help customers maintain mechanical performance as devices continue to shrink. Ultra-strength 304V can achieve tensile strengths approaching 500 ksi while maintaining useful ductility, offering potential benefits for catheter reinforcement, guidewires, springs, braids, and cable constructions. Ultra-strength tungsten delivers even higher performance, reaching tensile strengths above 800 ksi and approaching 1 million psi in certain ultrafine diameters. These enhanced properties can help improve stiffness, wear resistance, fatigue performance, and resistance to deformation in demanding applications such as surgical robotics, catheter systems, and chronic total occlusion guidewires.

The webinar also explores manufacturing and processing capabilities that support advanced devices. Multi-end spooling allows up to nine wire ends to be wound onto a single braider bobbin, helping improve braiding efficiency while reducing downtime. Additionally, Fort Wayne Metals highlights its flat wire portfolio, including both rolled and drawn flat wire options, along with multiple surface finishes designed to support specific performance requirements.

Bright, semi-bright, rough-rolled, hybrid, and wet-blasted surfaces can help optimize coating adhesion, braiding performance, handling characteristics, and manufacturability. Together, these capabilities demonstrate Fort Wayne Metals’ commitment to providing not only raw materials, but also engineered wire solutions that help customers improve device performance, streamline manufacturing, and support next-generation medical device innovation.

Advanced coatings and laser ablation for high-performance materials in medical devices

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:00:00 Z

Medical device conductors often need to perform multiple functions within a single assembly. One section may need to transmit electrical signals, another must move smoothly through a lumen, and another may require direct contact with tissue. Advanced coating technologies help meet these competing demands by providing electrical insulation, reducing friction, improving durability, or combining several benefits in the same device. Materials such as ETFE, PFA, FEP, PTFE, and polyimide each offer unique performance characteristics that allow engineers to balance dielectric strength, flexibility, lubricity, abrasion resistance, and size constraints based on application requirements.

Selecting the right coating is only part of the solution. Many medical devices require coatings to be removed at specific locations to allow for welding, sensing, stimulation, or electrical connections. Laser ablation provides a precise, non-contact method for removing coatings without damaging the underlying conductor. Unlike traditional mechanical stripping, laser ablation minimizes the risk of conductor damage while enabling highly controlled exposure windows along a wire’s length. This capability supports advanced device designs, including multi-electrode configurations and complex conductor geometries used in neurostimulation, diagnostic, and catheter-based applications.

The greatest value comes from combining coating technologies and laser ablation strategies to match the functional demands of each section of a medical device. For example, conductors may use dielectric coatings for insulation, lubricious coatings to improve device navigation, and selectively ablated regions for electrode contacts or terminations. By tailoring polymer selection, coating thickness, and exposure locations, engineers can optimize device performance while meeting demanding anatomical and functional requirements. Fort Wayne Metals partners with device designers to evaluate these trade-offs and develop coating and ablation solutions that support next-generation medical technologies.

Advancing your medtech innovation with a broad Nitinol portfolio

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 Z

What began with Nitinol round wire has grown into a broad range of product forms, optimized for superelasticity and shape memory, used in both established and emerging applications.

Our Nitinol capabilities include:

We’ve also developed specialized solutions to address unique application challenges:

🔹 35N LT DFT® - enhanced fatigue life, strength, and corrosion resistance
🔹 DPS® Nitinol for high stiffness at specific strain levels
🔹 Linear Elastic Nitinol for enhanced pushability and strength
🔹 USN® wire for increased column stiffness and buckling resistance
🔹 Silk® Nitinol for an ultra-smooth, oxide-free surface
🔹 Helical Turkshead Nitinol for applications requiring torque and control
🔹Niti #7 for substantially higher strength

Most recently, we introduced Altus™ Nitinol, a high-fatigue material with improved cleanliness designed for neurovascular stents and other high-cycle applications.

As a fully integrated melt-to-finish supplier, our investment in melting technology further strengthens our ability to support your evolving Nitinol needs, offering:

📦 Advantageous lead times
📦 Fewer potential bottlenecks
📦 Enhanced quality control
📦 More stable pricing
📦 Greater flexibility to scale production and develop new products

And we’re only getting started.

“From neurovascular to structural heart and beyond, we’re proud to support a wide range of medical markets with one of the industry’s broadest Nitinol portfolios,” says Eric Dietsch, Senior Product Manager. “We’re continually expanding the ways we can deliver the right solution for each unique application.”

Turning metal into medical innovation

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:00:00 Z

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.

How Ireland Became a Cornerstone of Fort Wayne Metals' Global Growth

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:00:00 Z

Ireland was the right answer. A global epicenter for medical device manufacturing, with a skilled workforce, business-friendly environment, and deep ties to the U.S., Ireland gave us the foundation to be closer to a growing European market, to better support customers where they operate, and grow our market share.

We haven’t looked back since.

We outgrew the space available in our original facility in Castlebar, an encouraging sign of sustained demand and strategic alignment. Expansion into a larger facility in 2019, which included additional employees and enhanced manufacturing capabilities, reinforced our commitment not only to Europe, but to a broader global presence.

Alongside our Fort Wayne operations, Ireland and its 200-strong people play an essential role in customizing a range of wire-based materials and components. These include Nitinol, SLT® wire, stainless steel alloys, and more, used in medical devices supporting endovascular, gastrointestinal, endoscopy, and robotic surgery.

“Our Castlebar facility, the only manufacturing site we operate outside the U.S., was more than an expansion. It’s our European headquarters and a proven catalyst for global growth,” says Jeremy Rohrs, Fort Wayne Metals President & CEO. “What started as a strategic investment has become a powerhouse operation, gaining momentum year after year. And we’re continuing to invest in Ireland, with new technologies and capabilities set to drive even greater impact.”

Fatigue performance starts within

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:00:00 Z

So, whether 35N LT™ alloy, MP35N® alloy, or another high-performance alloy is the optimal material solution depends on your device’s specifications. That’s where our engineering and technical experts are here to support you in finding the right fit to advance your applications. Check out our full inventory of High-performance alloys.

MP35N® alloy has been a go-to high-performance alloy for years thanks to its strength, corrosion resistance, and formability. But what if you could push fatigue performance even further?

Enter our 35N LT™ alloy. Developed with our industry partners, 35N LT™ alloy is double-vacuum-melted and, like MP35N® alloy, contains the same ratios of cobalt, nickel, chromium, and molybdenum required by ASTM F562.

But there’s one key difference between the two: 35N LT™ alloy has less titanium (0.1%) compared with MP35N® alloy (1.0%), offering a more refined material profile for today’s precision-driven applications.

How so?

A lower percentage of titanium, combined with smaller and more consistently shaped particles, reduces stress concentrations within the material, improving high-cycle fatigue performance in demanding medical device applications.

See the image below from our research. At the top is a typical inclusion in MP35N® alloy, while the bottom shows a typical inclusion in 35N LT™ alloy.

Rotary beam wire fatigue testing demonstrated improved lifecycle performance when comparing 35N LT™ alloy to MP35N® alloy. Learn more about the fatigue characterization of these two alloys by reading this whitepaper: Fatigue behavior in ASTM F562 medical grade wire

Flat wire: Thin profile, big impact

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:00:00 Z

Our flat wire capabilities support:

· Tight dimensional tolerances

· Our tightest tolerance currently is 5% of thickness and width, thickness +/- 0.0050 mm [0.0002 in] and width +/-0.0003 mm [0.0076 in], whichever is greater.

· Thin, space-saving designs

· Consistent mechanical properties

Available in a wide variety of materials, including stainless steel, Nitinol, titanium, and high-performance alloys, flat wire can be more useful than round wire, depending on the application. Its rectangular shape reduces height and eliminates wasted gaps, helping components fit more efficiently into tight spaces without sacrificing performance.

Flat wire can improve packing density, size tolerances, and dimensional consistency where every fraction of a millimeter matters.

Typical end uses for our flat wire:

· Percutaneous catheters

· Neurovascular devices

· Endovascular devices

· Expanding stents and delivery systems

· Coronary stents

· Stone retrieval baskets

· Catheter-based heart pumps

· Orthodontic clips

· Suture passers

When applications demand precision in a smaller footprint, flat wire opens the door to new possibilities.

Engineering support and solutions for complex applications

Wed, 27 May 2026 12:00:00 Z

At Fort Wayne Metals, our strands and cables capabilities are built around that partnership approach. We combine fully integrated manufacturing processes with collaborative engineering expertise to help you move from start to finish.

Our end-to-end capabilities include:

· Engineering and materials expertise to assist with iterative development

· Complete in-house processing from wire drawing to stranding and

· Value-add custom coatings and laser ablation

· Value-add mechanical assembly, including custom crimps, fittings, and end treatments

“Because our stranding and cabling capabilities are part of our larger, integrated manufacturing operations, we are positioned to control the supply chain from melt to finished material,” says Andrew Kritsch, Senior Engineer.

Collaborating with our team tends to start with a challenge rather than a specification. The right materials solution may become clear in a single conversation with our technical team. However, when an iterative process is needed, adjustments to constructions, materials, and finishes can be customized until the cable performs exactly as intended within the device.

That’s why engineering collaboration is crucial.

“With advanced tools and deep material expertise, our engineers can typically evaluate options in real time and guide customers toward the right material with optimal performance characteristics before the call even ends,” says Jessica Hartmus, Engineer.

See how advanced coatings and laser ablation come together to add value to devices

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:00:00 Z

When joined with our advanced wire processing and Laser ablation, Fort Wayne Metals delivers greater process control, quality oversight, and consistency from development through production. We provide dielectric and lubricious coatings tailored to your application’s functional needs, using extrusion and liquid enamel processes across our full portfolio of alloys.

Advanced coating solutions provide:

Electrical insulation and dielectric performance
Biocompatibility and chemical resistance
Flexibility and controlled lubricity
Corrosion resistance

Coatings are applied to:

Oftentimes, laser ablation is paired with our coating services to support complex devices that require both insulation and precise conductive zones from select locations on a wire.

Laser ablation enables:

Selective removal of coating
Clean exposure of the underlying wire
Insulation and precise conductive zones

These value-added capabilities support critical applications, including cardiac rhythm management devices, guidewire cores, catheter stylets, mandrels, and neurostimulation devices.

Customized materials deliver the strength, control, and durability in interventional precision tools

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:00:00 Z

Let’s take a closer look at how our customized products deliver the right mechanical performance for a range of critical devices:

Guidewires:

Our materials are used in guidewires for stents, catheters, stimulation devices, and more, providing the balance of flexibility and control required for safe navigation.

· Excellent kink resistance and elasticity for precise movement through tortuous anatomy

· High-fatigue resistance for long‑term durability in vasculature

· Options for MRI compatibility and electrical conduction to support advanced imaging and feedback

Delivery and deployment systems:

From stent delivery to embolic protection and valve deployment, our products offer consistent performance.

· Precise memory shape retention for dependable deployment

· Custom shapes for baskets, hooks, and control arms

· Integration for assemblies and post‑processing to streamline your manufacturing

Catheter reinforcement solutions and drive components:

We support catheter shafts, steerable tips, torque coils, and drive wires with materials designed for strength and dimensional stability.

· SLT® wire, strands, and cables for torsional strength, control, and steerability

· Custom braiding mandrels to enhance dimensional stability

In addition to miniaturization, modern interventional procedures require materials engineered for optimal mechanical performance to access hard-to-reach areas.

Built for miniaturization. Engineered for impact.

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:00:00 Z

Here’s how it works: An outer sheath made from 35N LT™ alloy, Nitinol, or other high-performance alloys provides strength and biocompatibility, while the core material—such as gold, platinum, or silver—adds functionality through conductivity, radiopacity, resiliency, or MRI enhancement.

Two materials in one are customized to meet the increasing constraints of miniaturization and the complexity of applications. Available in diameters as small as 0.017 mm [0.0007 in], DFT® wire is a bio-conductive powerhouse that elevates performance without compromising on size.

Sheath materials:

35N LT alloy
FWM 1058 alloy
Nitinol
Platinum alloys

Core materials:

Nitinol
Platinum
Silver
Tantalum

Typical devices include:

Aneurysm coils
Conductors
LVAD driveline cables
Neurovascular stents
Pacing leads
Retrieval baskets
Shock coils
Vascular stents

Recent innovation
A more recent advancement supports the work of medical providers who have long faced limited visibility of devices during X-ray imaging, often relying on markers that can create visual interference.

Helping solve this problem is our Nitinol DFT® wire, which incorporates radiopaque platinum or tantalum core within a Nitinol sheath. Learn more here: Optimizing medical devices: The effect of platinum on Nitinol DFT® composite wire

Engineered to take shape

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:00:00 Z

Shaped wire permits you to solve space, alignment, and packaging challenges when round or flat wire can’t.

Here's what it can offer:

· Maximize space within tight diameters

· Create precise working channels

· Fit multiple components in confined geometries

In many applications, shaped wire plays an even more interesting role: it never appears in the final device at all. Stainless-steel shaped wire is often used as mandrel wire, built over, coated, and later removed or replaced.

Typical end uses for shaped wire:

· Catheters

· Staples

· Coiling applications

· Guidewires

· Tooling

· Needles

· Deployment mechanisms

Shaped wire is customized in cut lengths in a wide range of alloys, with stainless steel, Nitinol, and titanium being the most common. And because of our specialized processing capabilities, we can make shaped wire in diameters as small as 0.127 mm [0.005 in].

To streamline the customer’s manufacturing process and further enhance the material, we can coat shaped wire, add crimps or fittings, and even shape set it.

Shaped wire offerings include:

· Crescent

· D-wire

· Elliptical

· Pie

· Grooved

· Triangle

· Turkshead

Built smaller and stronger—so your devices can go further

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 12:00:00 Z

Here’s what sets these materials apart 👇

Tungsten ultra strength

💪 Up to 1.5x stronger than industry standard tungsten

🔁 Greater ductility at small diameters to reduce fracture risk

📏 Uniform grain structure for consistent performance over long lengths

⚡ Excellent electrical and thermal conductivity

🩻 High density delivers strong radiopacity and smoother surface finishes

Processed to diameters of 0.127 mm [0.005 in] and smaller, tungsten ultra strength provides an average 30%+ increase in overall tensile strength versus conventionally processed tungsten. It supports high-performance applications like surgical robotics, aerospace systems, and vascular therapies. Explore further: Tungsten ultra strength

304V ultra strength

🚀 Up to 275 MPa (40 ksi) tensile strength increase over 304V Hyten

🧠 Added ductility and toughness for complex catheter designs

📉 Enables downsizing wire for more compact, cost-effective devices

Used to increase strength in springs and guidewires, 304V ultra strength, especially when paired with tungsten ultra strength, goes the extra mile for catheter reinforcement. Stronger, smaller materials don’t just withstand repeated stress; they unlock the opportunity for more creative solutions.

Charting the right course on a new project

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:00:00 Z

That’s why we built two digital tools on our website to help accelerate development timelines: the Strands & Cables Configurator and the Nitinol Actuator Calculator.

Available 24/7, both tools give you a headstart by letting you model ideas before you ever pick up the phone or kick off prototyping.

What you can do in minutes:

Build cable concepts that fit your needs: Adjust diameter ranges, materials, and breakload requirements, whether you’re working with microcables down to 0.04 mm [0.0015 in] or larger multi-strand constructions. It’s an easy way to see what’s feasible before requesting a quote. Learn more about our strands and cables.

Explore how Nitinol actuator wire might perform: Input design variables such as load, stroke, and transformation temperature to see what actuator wire type, diameter, and length we recommend. Explore actuator wire capabilities.

Why engineers benefit from these tools:

✅They cut out guesswork. You can see how design choices affect performance in real time.

✅They speed things up. Quick virtual iterations beat long calculation cycles.

✅They help set direction. You walk away with a clearer picture of what will—and won’t—work.

If your design falls outside typical parameters, we would be happy to discuss with you how we can push the limits of what’s possible. Contact your sales rep.

HHS® tube: Engineering durability, flexibility, and control in every turn

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 12:00:00 Z

HHS® hollow torque strand flips convention on its head. By layering multiple hollow strands––each layer made from 1 to 18 wires and alternating between clockwise and counterclockwise directions––we’ve engineered a structure where one layer’s motion reinforces the next. The result? When torque is applied, every layer works together to provide the desired rotational control or torque transmission.

Here's how HHS® tube can elevate your devices:

⚙️ Reliable torque transmission – rotational control and torque transmission achieved through a single or multi-layered strand orientation

🧩 Flexible options – customizable strand counts, filar counts, layer directions, and materials to fit specific needs including Nitinol’s superelastic performance

🩺 Enhanced durability – built to withstand repeated manipulation without compromising integrity or performance

With HHS® highly engineered multi-filar coil, precision meets possibility. This technology enables high-performance catheters that can deliver tools like needles, cameras, and grippers deep within the body, all while maintaining control from the operator’s hand. And with Nitinol, the HHS® tube can be shape set so it travels the tight vasculature and springs back to its intended shape inside the body.