A Dedicated R&D Environment
A catheter design can look great on paper, but manufacturing often tells a different story. The CathTeam Maker Space is a fully-equipped, production-grade catheter development lab designed to help R&D, Process Development, and Manufacturing teams bridge the gap between design intent and physical reality.
Whether you are out of cleanroom space, need to test a new process, or want to turn a napkin sketch into a functional prototype in days rather than months—our Maker Space gives your team the room, the equipment, and the materials to iterate faster.
WHY ENGINEERS USE THE MAKER SPACE
Stop throwing designs over the wall to manufacturing or waiting weeks for outsourced prototypes. Come build it yourself.
PRODUCTION-GRADE EQUIPMENT
Real experience requires real equipment. Our lab is outfitted with the same machines used across the medical device industry, giving your team the power to execute advanced manufacturing methodologies right at the bench.
Braiding & coiling
- 16-Carrier Steeger Braider: Precision wire reinforcement. Establish exact Picks Per Inch (PPI) and execute direct, free, and triaxial braiding using Diamond, Full, or Half load patterns.
- RothGreaves Coil Winder: Automated coil winding for single and multi-wire designs. Master your pitch and tension control for direct, free, and deflection coiling methodologies.
- Pilotline Coil Winder: Additional precision coiling capabilities to maximize flexibility and hoop strength.
- Mandrel Prep Tooling: Mandrel Straighteners and Stretchers to perfectly prep your core components before the build.
Lamination & Thermal Processing
- CathMaster Oven: High-speed horizontal lamination. Establish exact temperature and speed settings to create the perfect thermal gradient—moving air and moisture out to eliminate bubbles and voids for good.
- Beahm & Pilotline Fusing Towers: High-quality vertical lamination for bonding, reflow, and forming complex shafts.
- Hot Boxes & Heat Guns: Controlled thermal forming, liner stretching, and localized shaft finishing.
- Drying Oven: Essential moisture control. Pre-dry hygroscopic extrusions at 60-80°C before lamination to prevent process failures.
Post-Processing & Assembly
- Onex RF Tipper: The gold standard for atraumatic tipping. Achieve highly consistent, repeatable pilot manufacturing without the need for lubricants.
- Bonding Systems (Split Die & Balloon Bonder): Advanced thermal bonding for complex catheter joints and integrating balloons for temporary flow arrest or clot disruption.
- Adhesives & Curing: Glue Dispensers and UV boxes/Flashlights for rapid, precise joint bonding.
- Soldering Stations: For integrating smart tech, pull wires, ablation components, or pressure sensors directly into the shaft.
Advanced Testing & QC
- Mark-10 Pull Tester: Destructive testing capabilities. Run pull tests to validate joint strength and 3-point bend tests to accurately compare mechanical performance from build to build.
- Torque Tester: Verify torque response, pushability, and rotational stability under load.
- 3 Axis Laser Mic: High-accuracy dimensional verification to ensure critical Inner and Outer Diameter (ID/OD) tolerances are met.
- Advanced Visual Inspection: Microscopes, Video Scopes, and Vision Systems. Establish baseline Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs) and inspect for metal exposure, voids, and incomplete lamination.
Digital Tooling & Prototyping
- Bambu H2D / X1 Carbon 3D Printers: Rapidly print custom manufacturing fixtures, handles, device loading tools, and test accessories on-site.
- CathCalcs Software Access: Skip the disconnected spreadsheets. Use our proprietary software to calculate raw component math (like ideal jacket wall thicknesses and FEP shrink ratios) before you ever hit the manufacturing floor.
THE MATERIAL STOCKPILE
You can't learn real-world manufacturing without real-world materials. We stock a massive inventory of premium components from the industry's top suppliers so you can experiment instantly.
- Polymers & Jackets: A full durometer range from highly flexible 25D up to rigid 72D+, featuring Pebax jackets and liners supplied by Keystone Medical Technologies.
- Liners & Heat Shrink: Etched PTFE liners and FEP/PET heat shrink supplied by Optinova.
- Metals (Braiding & Coiling): 304SS, 316SS, and Nitinol round and flat wire.
- Mandrels & Hypotubes: PTFE-coated mandrels from Applied Plastics, stainless steel solid mandrels from Wytech, and precision hypotubes from Medical Component Specialists (MCS).
- Components: Marker bands supplied by Jimalu, plus a wide variety of UV and thermal adhesives.
Bring Your Team. Build Something Real.
READY TO START BUILDING?
Reserve the Maker Space for a day, a week, or a month. Whether you need independent lab time or dedicated engineering support, we are ready to talk shop.