Nitrofreeze® Cryogenic Deburring Service Expands to Implantable PEEK Medical Devices

Worcester, MA – August 12, 2009 – The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. is proud to announce the capability of removing machine burrs from PEEK medical devices including implants. The Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring service has recently undergone trials by medical device manufacturers to remove burrs from PEEK implants. The results reveal that the Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring process is highly effective at removing complex burrs from these parts. In addition, several major medical device manufacturers have independently determined that cryogenic deburring is a safe technique for removing machine burrs from their PEEK implants and have approved its use for their parts.

“These positive results continue to expand the adoption of our Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring service by medical device manufacturers as they shift away from less reliable and more expensive hand deburring ”, according to Robin Rhodes, President of the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. “The Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring service offers medical manufacturers a safe, clean, and reliable technology to remove machine burrs”, he added. In recent years, the adoption of the Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring service by medical manufacturers has consistently increased as more materials and part types use the company’s cryogenic processing to successfully remove residual machine burrs on complex and high value parts.

CNC machines that are used in the production of PEEK medical parts often leave residual burrs after the milling process is complete. Since many of these parts are implanted into humans, they must be 100% burr free while maintaining critical design features. The Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring process freezes the part to maintain essential tolerances - including surface finish and critical dimensions. Once frozen, the parts are tumbled while cryogenic-grade polycarbonate media is blasted at them to remove the offending machine burrs.

“It is exciting that the Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring service continues to be adopted in the medical device industry, especially for the rapidly expanding segment of in-vitro (implantable) devices”, according to Ryan Taylor, Product Marketing Specialist at the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. “Medical device manufacturers of PEEK parts are quickly realizing the advantages of Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring, including fast turnaround, lower costs and higher quality”, he added.

The company offers deburring for medical devices on a contract service basis as well as by providing equipment to manufacturers so that they can process the parts themselves in-house. The service offering can accommodate small orders or high volume production lots of hundreds of thousands of parts per week. Most orders are processed within two days of receipt at the company’s main facility in Worcester, MA. The Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring service is environmentally-friendly, fast, and cost-effective – especially when compared to the current forms of deburring employed in the medical device industry.

More information about the Nitrofreeze® cryogenic deburring service is available at the company’s web page, http://www.nitrofreeze.com/services/deburring/cryogenic-blast-deburr/.

The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc., located at 90 Ellsworth St. Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, (800) 739-7949, is dedicated to the commercial application of cryogenic technologies to serve the needs of industry, government and scientists. The firm offers a full range of Nitrofreeze® cryogenic services, including cryogenic burr removal service, cryogenic deflashing services, conventional cryogenic treatment, heat & freeze thermal cycling, shrink fitting services, and dry ice (CO2) blast cleaning. It also offers engineering services, cryogenic lab work in support of R & D, and custom equipment design for new and unique cryogenic applications. It is a corporate sustaining member of the Cryogenic Society of America and ASM-The Material Society.