Accellent Case Study

Medical device contract manufacturer, Accellent Endoscopy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the global Accellent Holdings Corporation, has invested in a new SmartScope Flash 200 video measuring microscope from OGP (UK) Ltd.

"The past few years have seen Accellent make a planned and progressive transition to more automated measuring systems," says the company’s Director of Operations David Searle. "Furthermore, we have a major customer that is operating a SmartScope Flash 200 and we wanted to enhance consistency of measurement between our site and theirs. The combination of these two important criteria led us to OGP's door."

With other Accellent group companies already using SmartScope equipment, the Manchester-based company wasted no time in improving its QA capability.

The SmartScope Flash 200 is today instrumental in the quality-assured delivery of tubular shafts for prostate shaving operations otherwise known as TURP (transurethral re-section of the prostate).

"The machine runs 24 -hours a day measuring these tubular shafts, completing one every 18 minutes on an automated cycle," explains Mr Searle. "Automation is a big advantage for us; the operator can just press a button and walk away to get on with another job."

Accellent's customer wrote the original component inspection program, but now OGP has received an order to modify/optimise the program and improve the jig design so that cycle time can be reduced even further.

The SmartScope Flash 200 is the smallest member of the Flash family of fully featured automatic measurement systems. Innovative design features include an AccuCentric 12:1 zoom lens that maintains accuracy by calibrating itself automatically with each magnification change. Other features, such as an elevating bridge mean the system takes up little space (less than three cubic metres) while still providing an ample 200 by 200 by 150mm measuring range and extensive measurement capabilities. SmartScope Flash 200 is a fully-fledged multisensor measurement system – users can add touch and/or laser probes as required. Patented profile illumination is provided via a fixed array of white LED lights beneath the stage glass that issue light as the optical system moves in the X-axis. Flash also incorporates a TTL coaxial LED surface illuminator and the patented SmartRing light as standard equipment, as well as the robust yet easy-to-use Measure-X metrology software.

One of the key features of the medical shafts being measured by the SmartScope Flash 200 at Accellent Endoscopy is a ±0.2mm geometric parallelism tolerance.

Since it was installed the machine is proving to be a highly productive general purpose dimensional measuring system, says Mr Searle . Previously we measured these parts using a manual visual system. Not only were there differences between our measurement system and that of our customer, there were obviously more opportunities for human error.

As a worldwide organisation, Accellent has grown into an entity employing 3500 people across 21 facilities in the US, Mexico, Germany, Ireland and the UK and with a turnover of over $400m. Far from just being a medical device manufacturer, Accellent claims to offer the most comprehensive supply chain solutions in the world, providing a complete menu of outsourcing services that can be tailored to customer requirements.

These include design, development, raw material outsourcing, device manufacturing, final assembly, QA, sterilisation, warehousing and delivery.

Accellent has the capacity to execute the most aggressive product cycles, the tightest deadlines and the most ambitious product transfers, says Mr Searle. This is why the facility in Manchester was able to achieve 41% growth last year and allowed us to grow to a $7 million turnover business in just 15 years. The SmartScope Flash 200 will help ensure we continue to offer maximum ROI for our customers