Cleanroom Molding with PEEK
In addition to building injection molds for medical applications, Matrix specializes in injection molding with a wide range of medical grade polymers. Among these materials are bioabsorbable resins for surgical implants which we process in our ISO -8 / Class 100,000 cleanroom. Examples include PLA, PLG, PLC, PDO, PDLG, and PG. These dissolving resins have very unique (and sometimes challenging) requirements, and several years of experience have taught us how to process them successfully. These bioabsorbable materials represent the majority of our cleanroom production at Matrix.
Recently we were awarded a medical program that involved processing an implantable-grade PEEK polymer . Due to its high-strength, biocompatibility, and high temperature & chemical resistance, PEEK is being specified for an increasing variety of long-term implantable medical device applications. While Matrix has been building PEEK tooling and molding PEEK in production for many years, this was the first time we would be processing PEEK in our cleanroom.
Over the years, we have designed our PEEK tooling to utilize either hot oil circulation or electric cartridge heat. In our experience we have found that hot oil provides more consistent heating than electric heaters; and while some PEEK parts can be processed using either heat source, many critical parts definitely require hot oil. In the past, we always had the flexibility to pick and choose where to run these jobs: on our main floor or in the cleanroom. Now, however, we had an implant that, due to customer requirements, had to be processed in the cleanroom. At the same time, it required hot oil heating. We had a dilemma: “how do we use hot oil in our cleanroom?”
Those responsible for overseeing our cleanroom operations would not consider using oil in the room, so we began our search for temperature control alternatives. The solution was the purchase of a Single Temperature Controls high-pressure hot water thermolator capable of reaching 430° F. We're in the process of making a few design tweaks to strengthen the final part which is still being qualified, but the thermolator has been tested several times in samplings and we are prepared for the production phase of this project.
