Treating Heart Disease
Angioplasty is a procedure used to clear an artery that has become blocked by fatty deposits or plaque. It involves threading a hollow tube, called a catheter, tipped with a small balloon into the artery until it reaches the area where blockage has occurred. The balloon is inflated to stretch open the artery and restore blood flow to an acceptable level.

One of the problems with the procedure is how to keep the artery open after the balloon is removed. Stents provide the solution.

A stent is a tiny wire mesh tube the size of a spring in a ballpoint pen. It is placed over the balloon on the catheter. When the balloon is inflated, the stent expands inside the artery. After removing the balloon and catheter, the stent remains in its expanded state, forming a scaffold that keeps the artery open.

MicroBlasting Stents
The majority of stents are manufactured by cutting an intricate pattern into a very small tube made from a nickel titanium alloy (Nitinol). The shape of the pattern dictates the expansion properties of the finished stent. To obtain the exacting dimensions, the tube is cut using a laser process. This process leaves an oxide layer on the surface of the stent. The oxides must be cleaned off so they do not adversely affect subsequent steps in the production process, such as electro-polishing. The ability to direct the blast with pinpoint accuracy makes micro-abrasive blasting (MicroBlasting) an ideal method for removing the oxide from tight corners and crevices, as well as from the exterior of the stent.
Laser machining also produces an unwanted layer of material called remelt. Most of the remelt occurs on the inner diameter of the stent, producing a challenging area to treat because of its small size. Comco created a special narrow O.D. extended right-angle nozzle that fits inside the stent and blasts from the inside of the stent outward. This allows the abrasive to strike the inner diameter of the stent. Rotating the stent while the nozzle traverses back and forth within it assures equal abrasion over the entire length of the stent.

Blasting systems like our Micro-Abrading Lathe have been designed specifically for stent processing. The Micro-Abrading Lathe combines the power and precision of Comco micro-abrasive blasters with interchangeable tooling that is capable of handling stents, as well as other manufactured parts, of varying size and shape.

MicroBlasting is well suited for stent processing because of its ability to remove the oxides and remelt without causing dimensional changes to the complex geometry of the stent. Call us today and find out how micro-abrasive blasting can be the right 'prescription' for your manufacturing ailment.

    The more efficiently your dust collector is operating, the cleaner the work environment will be. Why is this so? Much like a vacuum cleaner, the dust collector’s hopper gradually fills up with spent media. As the abrasive builds up on the outside of the filter bags and in the dustpan, the hopper’s ability to draw air diminishes.

    During normal maintenance, activate the shaker to knock the media off the outside of the filter bags. Periodically empty the hopper to restore the airflow through the MicroBlasting WorkStation. Although a reduction in airflow is gradual as the hopper fills with abrasive, the improvement is dramatic when the system is cleaned.

    Keep your operators happy—clean your Dust Collector today!