Both medical personnel and patients encounter medical equipment on a daily basis, which means the equipment needs to be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. The pieces need to hold up over time, resist fluctuating temperatures, and be easy to clean. At ThermoFab, we keep all of these things in mind, especially when we're redesigning a medical or life science product that will be in use for decades.
Thermoforming Medical & Life Science Products
Test of Time
Decades ago, most medical and life science products were made out of metal. The problems with metal include the obvious--rusting--but metal has other issues as well: sharp edges and its inability to be formed into aesthetically pleasing shapes. Today, the look and feel of the product is even more important. Industrial designers must design products that look as if they belong in modern environments, mainly because these products often compete against each other at trade shows. You can't go to Europe with a product that looks like it was designed in 1945 for the military.
Plastic is the perfect alternative to metal since it can be formed into aesthetically pleasing shapes with smooth contours and it can withstand the test of time. A medical or life science product created from thermoformed plastic will help set it apart from the rest of the products in a crowded marketplace.
Temperatures
The nice thing about plastic is that it truly is competitive with metal when it comes to temperature. Our plastics are formed at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and the set temperature is 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Most operational temperatures for medical and life science products are in the 150- to 190-degree Fahrenheit range. In other words, the thermoformed plastics can withstand hot environments. In fact, there's even added flexibility with plastics, since we can create insulated inner and outer doors on products that can hold in heat or cold, depending on the product's function.
Cleanliness
This is a hot button, especially in medical settings. Medical and life science products created from thermoformed plastics tend to be easier to clean since there are no sharp edges, but rather smooth contours. You don't have all the crevices associated with materials like metal. Either we coat our plastics with urethane or we use approved plastics that aren't painted. Medical products are cleaned every day (if not multiple times a day). Plastics can take decades of daily cleaning without wearing out.