Applied Medical Resources

SolidWorks launches SolidWorks 3D Skills Program

Applied Medical Resources is a manufacturer of surgical devices with divisions specializing in cardiovascular and vascular surgery, general surgery, and urology. The company is a quality-focused organization with capabilities in engineering, marketing, operations, and distribution. Products are designed, developed, and manufactured in California and distributed worldwide.

Stealth™ Surgical Clamps, Surgical Clips, and Surgical Inserts for atraumatic occlusion, low profile, and increased traction.

Throughout their history, Applied Medical has been driven to provide exceptional innovation to their customers. The founders recognized that healthcare needed innovation without constantly increasing costs. Accordingly, Applied Medical has focused on how to provide innovation of the highest quality while maintaining affordability.

For years, Applied Medical's trocar seal technology has been used in virtually every laparoscopic procedure performed. The company is proud of its achievements and continues to drive creativity in development and customer satisfaction. Teams of highly motivated engineers, many of whom have been with Applied Medical since the founding of the company, consistently develop proprietary designs that result in products that are both clinically effective and efficient to produce. One hundred percent of each R&D dollar is matched in process engineering to ensure high quality manufacturing. Recently, CNC programmer Steve Wolf spoke with SolidWorks Express about the company's decision to purchase ESPRIT CAM software.

Fibra® Surgical Clips and Surgical Clamp Inserts for atraumatic occlusion, low profile and increased traction.

What led to your decision to purchase ESPRIT CAM software?
"Shops providing multiple machining services frequently receive CAD models from customers with different part geometry (surface, solid, wireframe) and from different sources (CAD system, blueprint, etc.). They require a CAM system that can easily import any part geometry from any source, fully intact, and with no need for editing or rebuilding geometry. As a manufacturer of various laparoscopic surgical devices, we used to spend 25% of our time repairing IGES files."

What are the benefits of using ESPRIT?
"With ESPRIT, we're capable of working directly with solid models. Like many production machining shops that deal with complex parts, we usually receive solid models from our customers. The company now utilizes a CAM system that directly reads its solid models without the need for a translator; the ability to use one native CAD file to create both the design and the associated CNC program has drastically simplified file and part revision management for this shop, providing a net 25% time gain to put towards perfecting machining processes and maximizing productivity, resulting in improved profitability."

What is the value of ESPRIT providing a knowledge base for automation and effective process planning?
"Because of the high volume of parts produced, the goal of production shops is to build and reapply proven machining techniques. Many production shops serving the aerospace, electronic, medical, and auto industries receive a job that contains a slight variation from the previous one they just completed. They require a CAM system that eliminates repetitive steps in the CNC programming process by capturing and reapplying a shop's proven effective machining practices."

How much time have you saved using ESPRIT?
"We have reduced programming time for new jobs by employing knowledge base tools, such as process files, to automate programming for our 2-5 axis mills and Swiss turning machines. Our ESPRIT CAM system enables me to save a process file containing the knowledge of one or more process steps, such as the tooling, machining strategy, feeds/speeds, depth of cut, and more. Then, I call these process files up to supply the same machining techniques for similar parts. For example, a jaw for an aortic heart clamp comes in various sizes, so I just import the new model, generate the features, and call up my saved process file with tool lists and apply them to the new geometry."

What other benefits are involved?
"This KB tool is also useful in machining cannula, a laparoscopic surgery tool with different lengths and thread configurations."

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