Page 54 - Plastics News May 2023

TECHNOLOGY

Medical Manufacturer Innovates with Additive Manufacturing and Extrusion
Technology Hubs
employing proprietary technology
were designed by Stark and built in-
house at Spectrum. At the Extrusion
SITH, Bills welcomes visitors to the
3000-ft2 wing equipped with full-
scale extrusion lines, including a 1-in.
line already in place and a 2.5-in. line
scheduled for installation.
The Extrusion SITH also encourages
collaboration between the customer
and Spectrum on new ideas — more
complex profiles, wider range of du-
rometers, and multiple material com-
binations, to name a few. “Our cus-
tomers are always asking us to push
the envelope. At the SITH, we’re of-
fering them a way to work with our
engineering team in person and on-
site while making their extrusions and,
more importantly, exchange ideas and
mong medical-device component new technical solutions to medical- make adjustments on the spot.”
Asuppliers, it’s not a stretch to say device manufacturers that continually As Stark explains, the AM SITH ac-
that precision and innovation come seek more complex products — from commodates out-of-the-box ideas
with the territory. But it’s also not a thin-wall, tight-tolerance extrusions customers are bringing to them with
stretch that Spectrum Plastics Group, with multiple lumens, to material greater frequency. He elaborates,
a manufacturer of medical tubing, combinations previously not thought “Some of our customers are now us-
complex catheter delivery systems, feasible — faster than ever. ing 3D printing to create more com-
injection molded components and Spectrum has now launched two such plex parts from multiple materials that
flexible packaging, has been on a mis- hubs in Sandy: one for the continued in the past could not be produced us-
sion to kick its technical processing development of its extrusion busi- ing traditional manufacturing meth-
capabilities up a notch. ness, headed up by Matt Bills, sr. v.p. ods. We can do unique things here;
A little more than two years ago, the of Extrusion Innovation & Technology; we can 3D print extrusion tubing in
company launched the Spectrum In- the second for Additive Manufactur- infinite lengths, and actually have run
novation & Technology Hubs (SITHs) ing (AM), run by Tyler Stark, sr. dir. of up to 80-ft long. Just to prove that we
at its Sandy, Utah site. The idea was to Additive Manufacturing and Innova- could do it, we’ve 3D printed a tube
use these hubs to help Spectrum bring tion. At the AM SITH, 22 machines with 78 lumens.”

54 PLASTICS NEWS May 2023