Medical
Available in strip and wire
Medical
The Medical sector creates complex challenges for scientists, engineers and manufacturers. By the very nature of this sector, strict criteria are necessary when selecting materials. Medical device manufacturers, face unique material challenges, whereby they must perform as anticipated, with high risk implications for unexpected reactions or failures. As a result, this sector has a high demand for performance metals, including Titanium, Nickel Alloys, Copper Alloys and Stainless Steel. Utilising the characteristics of these alloys, manufacturers can create an extensive range of essential medical devices, including pace makers, surgical and orthopaedic implants. Furthermore, metal alloys have many uses outside of implants, including medical equipment, surgical instruments and drug administration. In recent years we have unsurprisingly seen a growing demand for medical grade alloys, but also greater scrutiny of material quality. At the Knight Group, we have built a reputation for quality you can count on, and with a number of approvals, including BE EN ISO 9001, you can trust us to deliver all the medical grade alloys you need.
A particular specialisation is the supply of stainless steel to the orthodontic industry under our company brand name KC Smith Ortho. Under this brand, we hold MDA Certification (Medical Device Approval) and are authorised to CE mark our products.
Materials we supply into the medical and orthodontic industries:
TITANIUM GRADE 1 R50250
TITANIUM GRADE 2 R50400
TITANIUM GRADE 3 R50550
TITANIUM GRADE 4 R50700
TITANIUM GRADE 5 (Ti-6Al-4V) / R 56400
TITANIUM GRADE 9 (Ti 3Al 2.5V) / R 56320
301 / 1.4310 / S 30100
302 / 1.4310 / S 302S26 / S302S31
304 / 1.4301 / S 30400
304L / 1.4307 / S 30403
305 / 1.4303 / S 30500
316 / 1.4401 / 1.4436 / S 31600
316L / 1.4404 / 1.4432 / S 31603
321 / 1.4541 / S 32100
Nitronic® 50 (XM-19) / 1.3964 / S 20910
410 / 1.4006 / S 41000
420 / 1.4028 / S 42000
17-7 PH / 1.4568 / S17700
Titanium
Titanium in particular is a key material that has many uses within in modern medicine and dentistry. Whilst it is not completely immune to corrosion within the human body, Titanium is bacteria resistant and offers biocompatibility. Unlike other metals, tissue and bone can bond to an artificial implant made from a titanium alloy thanks to biocompatibility. This Osseointegration phenomenon is unique to the alloy and makes titanium the material of choice for semi to permanent implants. As a result of growing medical procedures and biomedical innovation, Titanium use is expected to grow further.
Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel is an extremely tough material that resists corrosion very well and offers many properties that make it the ideal material for temporary surgical implants and instrumentation. Stainless steel implants are generally cheaper than their titanium counterparts easy to sterilize, lightweight, strong, durable, and can easily be shaped to better fit the bone. Austenitic grades tend to be favoured for implants over other types of stainless steel alloys, in part due to their compatibility with other common medical procedures such as MRIs. The magnetic properties of ferritic and martensitic grades make them at best unsuitable for diagnostic medical imaging, causing distortion in images, but can also lead to serious injury if present during an MRI.
The most common grades of stainless steel for medical applications are 301, 304, 304L and 305 however other austenitic grades are better suited to some devices. Grade 316 is highly resistant to corrosion and has a high creep strength at raised temperatures so it can be used for braces, surgical clamps and other critical applications. Selecting the most appropriate stainless steel alloy requires an understanding of the corrosion requirements and formability.
Copper
Copper is also a key material in this sector, with a long history of applications in treating infections. Records dating somewhere between 2600 and 2200 B.C detail the use of Copper to sterilise Chest wounds in Egypt. In fact Copper continues to be of critical use in hospitals today, owing to its antimicrobial properties to combating infections such as MRSA. Whilst Copper offers superior antibacterial properties in comparison to Stainless Steel, innovations in antibacterial coating offers manufacturers wider choices in material selection.
Particular products we supply to the medical and orthodontic industries are:
Precision orthodontic arch wire
Soft stainless medical ligature wire
Hard Stainless steel for needles, supplied in precision cut lengths
All data is provided for informational purposes only. In no event will the Knight Group and its subsidiaries, be liable for in respect of any action taken by any third party arising from using the information taken from our online or printed sources. Chemical and Mechanical Properties should not be construed as maximum or minimum values for specifications, nor should information be used to assess suitability for a particular use or application. The information and data provided is deemed to be accurate to the best of our knowledge and may be revised anytime without notice and assume no duty to update