Laser focus: Behind the scenes at Micrometric
Precision engineering and laser-based manufacturing company Micrometric has been celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Ian Bolland went along to the company’s Lincolnshire-based HQ to find out more as it marked this milestone.
Laser is at the heart of everything Micrometric does, whether that’s cutting, marking or welding, across multiple industries.
As well as the medical device sector, Micrometric serves the electronics, oil and gas, instrumentation, aerospace, automation and many other industries.
As part of the 40th anniversary celebrations guests were given a tour of the workshop by Neil Main, co-founder, and commercial director Chris Waters.
The company’s repertoire of machinery includes a CO2 laser which allows for the cutting of organics like plastics and ceramics – one of its oldest machines which has been inside the factory since 1988. But the old combines with the new to cater for companies who are in demand for Micrometric’s more established services as well as it’s more recently acquired capabilities.
We were given some insight into the full repertoire of laser cutting and drilling across the sectors it operates in, including in medical devices. Many of the medical parts manufactured by the company involve tube cutting to create small windows, slots, holes and spirals for different pieces of equipment.
With the specialism in cutting smaller components, a lot of them form part of the smaller devices people are accustomed to in a healthcare setting, including small tubes, endoscopes and injection needles.
As well as the smaller tubes, larger tubes are also cut to form parts of MRI machines, whilest its laser capabilities allow Micrometric to provide marking services for creation of Unique Device Identification (UDI) codes.
As part of the tour, we were given some insight into how the laser machine works that is used for tube cutting in the manufacture of parts for medical devices.
Waters said: “The tube cutting laser is used a lot in the medical industry cutting things like stents and it can cut tubes from 0.5mm diameter up to 30mm diameter. If you think of someone who has a stent in their heart, that’s the kind of thing this laser cuts.
“A large hub for medical device manufacturing is in Ireland. The centre for that kind of stuff is over in Ireland, but we help top up. These companies are focused on production of existing parts and may not have a lot of time on their lasers for developing new parts, and that’s where we can help. We can cut their development parts on our lasers.”
While the majority of the machinery within the factory may be laser-based, Waters also highlighted the wire eroder: “An electrical current is passed through a wire that is brought close to the part being made and it can remove very small amounts of material. With this machine we are working to a few microns of accuracy."
Addressing the capabilities of the powerful lasers in the factory, Waters explains: “Ours is around 4.5 kilowatts so we can cut up to 20mm thick stainless steel and 15mm aluminium. We can also cut large thick parts very quickly and, therefore, very economically.
“Another laser in the factory has the capability to use 5kw of power for a short amount of time when first starting to cut a part, which is very useful for cutting highly reflective materials like brass, copper and silver as well as other metals like titanium, tantalum and iridium. Once the initial cut is made then it has up to 3kw of power available.”
As well as the laser manufacturing services, there was also a strong emphasis on the company being rooted in the community with partnerships with local colleges, allowing young people to work for one day a week as part of their qualifications with the potential for employment upon completion.
Waters added: “When we recruit, not all new employees have all the skills we require but if we see a passion and ability for the work we do, then we will support them with training and by sponsoring them to gain formal qualifications.”