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Machined Medical Components by Clinical Application
Six areas, each with its own critical features, materials and records. Use it to check what a supplier should be asked before the drawing goes out.
Classification and contact category are your decisions as the device maker. This page shows what suppliers are usually asked for, not what your device needs.
Orthopedic, spine and trauma
Permanent and temporary implants plus the instruments that place them. The highest documentation load on the list, because most of these parts stay in the patient.
Typical materials: Ti-6Al-4V ELI, CoCrMo, 316LVM, PEEK
- Bone screwsThread form, cannulation concentricity, drive recess fit, no burrs at the tip or the thread runout.
- Bone platesContour, countersink geometry for the screw head, edge finish on every surface that touches tissue.
- Pedicle screw heads and rodsPolyaxial seat geometry, rod diameter and straightness, thread for the set screw.
- Interbody cagesTooth profile, graft window edges, PEEK free of crazing and cross contamination.
- Joint componentsTaper trunnions, articulating surface finish, locking features between modular parts.
Surgical instruments
Mostly reusable, so the part has to survive repeated cleaning and steam sterilization. The device maker gives reprocessing instructions under ISO 17664, and the material and finish have to support them.
Typical materials: 17-4 PH, 420, 304, 316L, titanium
- Jaws and serrationsTooth geometry and alignment when closed, hardness, no recast left from EDM.
- Box locks and hingesFit and play, burr free pivot holes, smooth action after passivation.
- Drivers and adaptersHex or star drive tolerance to the matching screw, quick connect geometry.
- Handles and housingsCleanable geometry with no blind crevices, marking that stays legible.
Dental
Small titanium parts where the connection geometry decides whether the part fits the implant system at all.
Typical materials: CP titanium Grade 4, Ti-6Al-4V ELI, CoCr
- Implant bodiesThread, apex geometry, internal connection, surface treatment area held clear of contamination.
- AbutmentsConnection and indexing feature to the implant system, margin line, screw access channel.
- Prosthetic screwsThread class, head seat, drive recess on a very small part.
Endoscopy and minimally invasive
Small diameter, thin wall work where a burr inside a tube is a patient safety issue and inspection needs magnification.
Typical materials: 304 and 316L tube, 17-4 PH, nitinol
- Shafts and tubesWall thickness, straightness, internal burr removal after cross holes and slots.
- Jaw links and tipsMicro features, pin holes, laser weld preparation.
- Couplers and hubsConcentricity to the shaft, seal surfaces for insufflation.
Surgical robotics and capital equipment
Larger parts with little or no patient contact, where positional tolerance across the part and cleanability of the outer surface set the price.
Typical materials: 6061 and 7075 aluminum, 17-4 PH, titanium
- Arm segments and housingsBearing bores and their position over a long part, sealing faces, anodize.
- Drive and joint partsGear and bearing fits, runout, hardened surfaces.
- Instrument interfacesRepeatable locating features, wear surfaces, sterile drape interface geometry.
Diagnostic and lab
Fluid handling and fixtures for instruments that do not touch the patient, where internal cleanliness and leak tightness matter more than looks.
Typical materials: PEEK, PMMA, PTFE, 316L, aluminum
- Fluidic manifoldsInternal channel finish, intersection burrs, port flatness, leak test.
- Valve and pump partsSeal surfaces, chemical compatibility with reagents, dimensional stability of the plastic.
- Cuvette blocks and fixturesOptical path geometry, thermal stability, clean surfaces.
What the contact category changes
ISO 10993-1 groups devices by what they touch. The further in the part goes, the more record a supplier is usually asked to produce. Typical asks, not requirements for your device.
| Contact category | Examples | What suppliers are usually asked for |
|---|---|---|
| Implant device | Bone screws, plates, cages, joint components, dental implants | Implant grade material to its standard, lot traceability to the heat, validated cleaning and passivation, full dimensional record per lot |
| Externally communicating device | Instruments that contact tissue or bone during surgery, endoscopic parts | Material certificate, passivation record, cleaning to your limit, reprocessing compatibility for reusable parts |
| Surface device | Handles, external parts that touch skin | Material certificate, cleanable finish, marking that survives reprocessing |
| No patient contact | Robot structure, housings, diagnostic manifolds | Lot traceability and certificate of conformity as your device file requires, often ISO 9001 level controls |
Background on implant types: implants in medicine. Device class is a separate question, covered on the home page. Materials by grade are on materials and the machining route on processes.
Questions about applications
Do you match finished devices or only components?
Machined components and machined sub-assemblies. A finished device that has to be cleaned, sterilised, labelled and released under your device master record is a different scope. Say so in the RFQ and we tell you plainly whether we can match it.
Is the contact category the same as device class?
No. Device class is the regulatory risk class of the finished device. Contact category in ISO 10993-1 describes what the device touches and for how long. Both change what you ask of a supplier, and both are your decision, not the supplier's and not ours.
Does single use or reusable change the machining?
Mostly it changes the material and the finish. A reusable instrument has to survive many cleaning and sterilization cycles, so hardness, passivation quality, crevice free design and a durable mark matter more. The machining processes are often the same.
Can one supplier cover implants and instruments?
Sometimes. Many shops specialise by part family rather than by industry, because the machines, materials and records differ. Name the family in the RFQ and we match on it rather than on a general medical label.
Name the application in your RFQ
It tells us which suppliers run that family. We match up to 3 and reply within 24 business hours. What we check first: how we vet. Before you write it: bone screw machining at Swiss shops.