Have you ever wondered how all the tubing used in medical facilities is made? It might surprise you to learn that tubing of any kind for medical purposes is made via a number of manufacturing methods. When it comes to metal medical tubing extrusion and injection molding are the most common. Dip molding is used more often for plastic tubing. Understanding these methods goes a long way in learning about medical tubing fabrication.
Extrusion
Medical tubing extrusion involves pulling molten material through a formed mold and cutting it off as it ejects the opposite side of the extruding machine. If you remember that old soft dough kids’ playset you had as a kid, that is extruding. In this instance, however, the pieces of metal are rapidly cut to an exact length as the material exits the machine.
Injection Molding
A special mold is made for an injection molding machine. The mold is comprised of a top and bottom half, both of which are loaded into the machine and fit together in a sealed fashion when the machine is closed. The molten material is injected into the mold until the mold is filled. Then the material is cooled to create whatever it is the mold was intended to create. When the molded object is sufficiently cool, it is removed from the mold, sanded and smoothed, and possibly dipped if needed. Injection molding works best for large hollow tubing, while extrusion works best for much smaller hollow tubing, like a canula.