There’s a lot of growth in medtech these days, thanks to advances in drug delivery, cardiovascular and orthopedic devices, and other product segments, according to Adam Crandall, Chief Revenue Officer of Addtronics. But medical device manufacturing companies are also facing several challenges, such as stringent regulatory and quality requirements, labor shortages, traceability, pressure to reduce time to market, rising costs, and inflation. Many companies are also producing a high mix of devices in low volumes, complicating production.
Medtech companies could leverage automation technologies to solve some of these challenges, said Crandall. He presented today’s MD&M Midwest session, “Investing in Robotic/Custom Automation to Scale your Med Device Product.”
Companies are also seeing a shift from standardization to customization, as the industry moves away from traditional mass production focused on uniformity and scale, he said. Instead, there’s a focus on “how to treat specific groups of patients,” he explained. “Medical device companies need to be focused on making specific medical devices for groups of people rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
“In order to do that, you have to be flexible. You have to make sure your automation enhances precision and repeatability, even in a complex customized manufacturing task, always improving quality and compliance,” he said.
“And manufacturers have to gain a competitive edge by reducing lead times and responding to market shifts. How do you do that when you don’t have labor, and you have rising wages and rising cost? Automation.”
Custom automation also “supports regulatory traceability and efficient documentation for diverse product lines and solves labor challenges and market demand issues,” he added.
Medical device companies are embracing a variety of automation solutions, he said. These include traditional industrial robots for high-volume repetitive tasks in material handling, packaging, serialization, and pick-and-place applications. But collaborative robots are “better for higher-mix, lower-volume production. You’re sacrificing speed, [but] they are a little more nimble and good for applications like assembly, inspection and testing, when you have that operator nearby or you want the operator to be integrated or work closely with them.”
Full custom automation systems could also be developed to handle specialized or challenging processes and difficult tasks, Crandall said. He shared a recent project in which one of Addtronics Custom Automation businesses developed a custom solution for a cannabis production company.
Common medical device manufacturing applications that can be automated include the assembly of surgical staplers, catheters, autoinjectors, stents, and implantable devices. Precision operations that can be automated include laser cutting, welding, adhesive dispensing, component insertion, quality control, leak and function testing, and defect detection.
Crandall said that companies interested in automation should answer these questions before investing in solutions:
-
Can you justify the equipment cost with the anticipated production value? What is your payback period—one, two or three years? How much is labor costing you and at what point will the benefits of investing in automation actually pay itself pack versus the cost of throwing more labor at it?
-
Are your processes repetitive and well defined?
-
Do you need micron-level or zero-defect production?
-
Are you facing staffing shortages, high turnover, and increased labor costs?
-
Do you need to increase capacity without proportional labor increases? Do you need to produce more product with less resources?
-
Do you need enhanced traceability and documentation?
“If you are answering yes to these questions, it’s probably the right time to invest in automation,” he said.
Companies could justify the cost by defining what success looks like when working with their integrators, looking at the total cost (including the cost of equipment, integration, and training), considering the tangible facility benefits and the product life cycle, and looking beyond labor savings to consider the benefits of lowering defects and potentially avoiding product recalls.
Crandall also recommends taking the following steps when selecting an automation integrator:
-
Conducting due diligence on the integrator’s track record
-
Evaluating their technical capabilities and knowledge of your application
-
Visiting their facility
To learn more, visit www.acaautomate.com.
DAPHNE ALLEN/INFORMA MARKETS MANUFACTURING