Supercritical CO₂ milling

A game changer for medical devices manufacturers?

The premises of the study

The use of super-critical CO₂ as a coolant for milling has generated considerable interest in recent years due to the efficiency gains this technology can create, especially for medical device manufacturing. The technology is considered a potential game changer for efficient milling.

In a seminar at the KSF Lab, Institute Director Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bahman Azarhoushang gave a live demonstration of the technology and presented the results from the latest trials. The seminar took place on March 24th, 2022 in Tuttlingen and was held in German.

In the afterglow of the seminar, we created a special webinar for you, in which we are happy to share with you the results from the latest trials and review the potential of the technology for medical manufacturing.

The Webinar

Bahman Azarhoushang

Expert in the field of machining, he obtained his PhD in the field of Mechanical Engineering from Stuttgart University in 2011 and was the head of the research and development department of Baerhausen Company before joining Furtwangen University in 2013. Member of the Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering faculty of Furtwangen University since September 2013 and director of the Institute of Precision Machining (KSF).

Erik Poulsen

A mechanical engineer and expert in the field of production systems for medical device manufacturing, Erik was educated in Canada (BSME from UNB, MBA from McGill) and spent time in both Project Management and in Sales Management for several major systems integrators before joining GF Machining Solutions in 2018 as Medical Market Segment Manager.

Watch the webinar

More reading

Take the time to access our two technical papers available for download.

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a commonly used material in medical orthopedics, where its durable, low-friction surface is used as a spacer that ensures mobility for knee, hip and shoulder implants. However, machining this material with traditional milling results in the formation of burrs that are often manually removed in a secondary process. In the case of manufacturing implants from UHMWPE, our Mikron MILL S 400 U 5-axis high-speed Milling machine can offer a stable, repeatable machining process that results in a significantly finer surface finish with dramatically fewer burrs.

Article on machining of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)

Article on the machining of titanium