Choosing the right hard material

1. Cemented carbide is the best solution for medical device & dental manufacturers. In the medical systems sector, carbide solutions are the leading choice. For example, doctors treating teeth and bones or specialists working with implants and dentures need precise and extremely resistant tools. Hard Material Solutions by Ceratizit supplies this industry with standard and customer-specific solutions: being extremely hard, tough, resistant to breakage and heat, carbide blanks prove maximum performance, and are many times superior to conventional steel products.

2. Value processes done to blanks prior to delivery benefit medical device manufacturers. Ceratizit is the only producer worldwide creating the specific pyramid profile at the pressing and sintering stage for needle holder tips, saving customers time, money, and overall work effort. In addition, to facilitate the brazing or welding of burr blanks onto a steel shaft, the blanks can receive a surface treatment that deposits a cobalt or nickel layer.

3. Sintered or ground carbide blanks? Each has an appropriate application. Sintered parts are created by pressing powder into the desired geometry and then heating them in a furnace. These parts frequently meet the customer’s specifications without further finishing operations such as grinding. Ceratizit can supply sintered or ground blanks for medical and laboratory applications depending on the complexity of the parts and the degree the end customer requires to complete the medical/dental tool. No matter the application, Ceratizit technology experts can create customer-specific blanks that reduces the number of finishing operations customers must process through their own manufacturing.

4. Choosing the best grade for the application. Customers can choose from unique certified carbide grades with a variety of properties for the end application. Depending on requirements such as hardness or toughness, Ceratizit’s technical experts listen to customers and then advise them on selecting the right grade for the optimal performance needed for their surgical tools.

5. Benefits of a process chain that’s controlled from carbide powder to the blank. Ceratizit is one of the few carbide manufacturers that manages the entire process chain single-handedly: from ore extraction to the ready-to-use product – and Ceratizit has been doing this for almost 100 years. Customers benefit from vertical integration and the reliability of a strong partner providing constant premium product quality for best performance.

6. Corrosion-resistant grades to withstand frequent cleaning/disinfecting. Ceratizit complies with the strictest healthcare regulations for medical systems. Certified corrosion-resistant grades offer security, reliability, and durability. Ceratizit offers grades matching the special premium requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ceratizit’s carbide grades are also checked for in-vitro cytotoxicity according to DIN EN ISO 10993-5 by an accredited test laboratory. The demand for biocompatibility in the field of medical products raises standards of patient safety. For dental tools directly in contact with the tissue for a short time, cell tolerance must be guaranteed.

7. Customer- specific designs – shapes, dimensions, surface finishes, grades – for specific applications. In addition to a standard range of the products, Ceratizit’s experts are available to assist customers in implementing customer-specific designs: these can differ in shape, dimensions, surface treatment, carbide grade, finish, and serration. For example, Ceratizit is the only producer worldwide that creates the specific pyramid profile for needle holder tips during pressing and sintering, saving customers time, money, and overall work effort.

About the author: Elizabeth Engler Modic is editor of TMD and can be reached at 216.393.0264 or emodic@gie.net.

Ceratizit Group – Hard Material Solutions: https://www.ceratizit.com