Machining PEEK for Medical Industry

Polymer PEEK (polyether ether ketone) in the field of medical equipment applications

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) resin is issued by the late 1970s a special engineering plastics with super characteristics, is currently the thermoplastic resin in the heat-resistant grade, the best overall performance of a class of resins.PEEK and other special engineering plastics compared with a number of advantages, such as mechanical properties, self-lubricating, chemical corrosion resistance, flame retardant, peeling resistance, resistance to irradiation, insulation stability, hydrolysis resistance and easy processing, etc., in the aerospace, automotive manufacturing, electrical and electronic, medical and food processing and other fields have been widely used. and easy processing, etc., in the aerospace, automotive manufacturing, electrical and electronic, medical and food processing and other fields have been widely used. PEEK blending, filling, fibre composite and other enhancement modification processing, you can get more outstanding performance of PEEK composite materials, which is known as "the most promising materials of the 21st century".

In the medical device field, more and more manufacturers of spinal surgery, trauma and orthopaedic medical products are turning to PEEK, which offers a number of additional advantages over typical medical implant materials such as titanium and cobalt chromium alloys:

(1) Lower modulus of elasticity, which prevents stress-masking effects and allows the surrounding bone to retain its strength.

(2) X-ray transmittance, invisible on CT and MRI scans, allowing easier assessment of the bone growth and healing process; and resin modification when visibility of the implant is required in some cases.

(3) Sterilisation properties, instantly exposed to hot steam, ethylene oxide and gamma radiation for a long period of time, but still able to maintain its original properties unchanged.

(4) Better biocompatibility.

(5) Adjustable mechanical properties, different additives can be added, including carbon fibre, barium sulphate and glass fibre, to meet different specific application requirements. For example, short carbon fibres can be added to implant grade PEEK polymers to improve their friction and wear properties, and the mechanical strength of continuous carbon fibre-reinforced PEEK can be comparable to that of cobalt-chromium alloys, titanium, aluminium alloys and stainless steel.

(6) Greater design freedom, easily machined from semi-finished blanks or produced by injection moulding.

With technological innovations in the special engineering plastics industry and precision injection moulding processes, special plastic PEEK injection moulded products are driving the development of the medical industry. Originally made of metal products made of medical equipment, turned into a special plastic PEEK parts instead.

Special engineering plastics PEEK has a good all-round performance, good heat resistance, high hardness, corrosion resistance, can be in the more demanding chemical, physical environment in the long-term use, but the price is more expensive, the production is small, more used in biomedical, and other high-precision areas.

First, special engineering plastics in the application of medical equipment

Neurosurgical devices

Including: ventricular drainage device, precision ventricular drainage device, lumbar large pool drainage device, cranial bone repair piece, etc..

Respiratory anaesthesia devices

Including: respiratory mask, anisotropic tracheal tube, anaesthesia puncture kit, tracheal intubation kit, etc.

Dialysis membrane products

Including: built-in tube, external tube, medical lagging connector, etc.

Cardiovascular products

Including: general cardiac stents, drug-carrying cardiac stents, biodegradable cardiac stents, cardiac blockers, imaging catheters, pressure injectors, etc.

Second, the application of special engineering plastics in medical equipment

The application of medical equipment transmission parts

Including: ultraviolet ray therapeutic instrument, excimer laser therapeutic instrument, ruby laser cosmetology instrument, newborn hearing screening instrument, spinal correction bed, automatic computer vision instrument, etc..

Third, medical implantable PEEK injection moulding

Including: orthopaedic implant consumables, (intervertebral fusion, ligament repair rivets, articular surface screws), neurosurgery series (peek artificial skull, peek maxillofacial bone), cardiology (peek heart valves, peek pacemaker shell)