The health care industry requires precise, ever-evolving products to spur new medical discoveries and advancements. It is more important than ever that advanced manufacturers are prepared to respond to the call for innovative solutions to create lifesaving medical technology that keep patients safe.

Through a specialty manufacturing process, Elcon Precision uses ceramic metallization and vacuum brazing to create some of the key components that go into specialty medical products. These components support health care professionals in treatment and surgery applications, as well as contribute to the safe and efficient production of pharmaceuticals.

Elcon’s process and part development is pivotal in helping develop these important medical device components, ultimately improving patient health, discovering new treatments, finding cures and preventing disease. Given these varied applications in critical lifesaving technology, the components require specialty vacuum brazing and ceramic metallization techniques.

Value Creation Through Advanced Processes

Elcon’s depth of experience and machining expertise enables them to meet very specific customer requirements using high precision vacuum-brazing, in-house ceramic metallization and rare materials.

What is vacuum brazing?

Vacuum brazing is a clean process that produces tightly toleranced assemblies with reliable joints between dissimilar materials using a filler metal called a brazing alloy. It is a process that creates strong, durable, leak-proof joints suitable for demanding applications like electron guns used for x-rays and radiation therapy, or hermetic enclosures that protect internal electronics in cardiac pacemakers.

Vacuum brazing is a precisely controlled manufacturing process. Elcon can maintain the brazing temperature, heating and cooling rates and furnace pressure. A well-controlled environment minimizes variability and ensures consistent quality of the assembled component. Following assembly, Elcon also deploys rigorous testing and quality control measures.

Maintaining airtight and leak-proof seals is essential for the safety, performance and longevity of critical equipment and devices. Since the brazing process occurs in a highly monitored vacuum environment, it prevents oxidation, corrosion and contamination of the joint surfaces, resulting in clean, oxide-free joints. This makes the vacuum brazing process particularly suited for joining together materials sensitive to oxidation, such as the alloys and reactive metals that comprise medical technology devices.

The ability to work with so many different materials, especially high thermal conductivity and dielectric ceramics and exotic metals, is unique to Elcon. Precise matching of braze alloys with materials and use of ceramic-to-metal joining techniques include materials like tungsten, titanium, stainless steel, sapphire and alumina and zirconia ceramics. Characteristics like biocompatibility, high strength, high melting point and corrosion resistance make the products durable and non-toxic for humans, allowing manufacturers to develop high-tech parts to successfully operate on and integrate with patients’ bodies.

Vacuum brazing eliminates the need for any intermediary material as the braze alloy is metallurgically compatible with the parent materials and creates a strong bond. This saves the material, process and labor costs for the intermediate layer, making Elcon a preferred partner for streamlined, quality production.

Integrating ceramic metallization

Backed by industry-leading certifications and accreditations, Elcon leads the way in ceramic metallization techniques, offering its partners superior quality and precision. Metallization plays a critical role in enhancing the performance of brazed assemblies, especially in developing parts for health care applications.

Ceramic metallization is a process in which a layer of metal is deposited onto the substrate’s ceramic surface to provide a wettable surface for subsequent brazing.

The process typically includes cleaning and preparing the ceramic surface, applying a layer of Elcon’s proprietary metallization paint (molybdenum/manganese or molybdenum/manganese/tungsten blend) through needle painting, brush, spray, or screen-printing, and then sintering the coated ceramic to bond the metal layer permanently. The result is a component ready to be brazed into a hermetic assembly.

Leading with Customer-Centric Solutions

Elcon is a chapter in a larger story in medical device development – specialty medical products and solutions do not come to fruition without an experienced manufacturer like Elcon.

Elcon leads with a customer-centric approach. Elcon’s full suite of services, from design and prototyping to development and application, help manage quality control throughout the brazing and metallization process to tailor solutions and minimize part-to-part variation for unique medical applications.

The expert team at Elcon starts every project with a consultation to understand exactly what the customer is looking to achieve. Elcon engineers also offer design feedback so that the components and assemblies (including sub-assemblies) are manufacturable. They ensure compatibility with existing machinery and eliminate the need for specialized tooling, which can increase costs and lead times. Engaging in thorough discussions at the initial design stage can identify and address potential challenges and constraints proactively, leading to more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing processes. Elcon also employs rigorous testing and quality control measures once components are developed.

Elcon’s innovative technology differentiates The Partner Companies, as the advanced manufacturing solutions create unique customer products for the most specialty applications. The close partnership with leading engineers, exclusive ceramic and metallization technology and customer collaboration makes it an ideal partner to provide medical technology solutions that protect the public and prioritize patient safety.

Get in touch with Elcon today to discuss customized solutions for your medical applications at elconprecision.com.