Nickel and Gold Plating of Implants for the Medical Device Industry
Nickel and Gold Plating of Implants for the Medical Device Industry
Project description:
Prodigy Surface Tech specializes in critical plating applications for components used in the medical, defense, aerospace and semi-conductor equipment industries. The part for this implant plating project is a molybdenum battery lead used in an implantable medical device. The length is 1.5” with a diameter of 0.02”. The battery lead is first nickel plated then returned to the customer for further assembly. The customer then returns the assembly to Prodigy Surface Tech for selective gold plating providing a chemically inert, conductive and bondable surface.
Because this plated component is used in an implantable medical device, numerous customer specifications must be met. These include Mil-Spec, AMS standards and specific customer requirements. Adhesion testing, X-ray fluorescence, and an AQL 1.0 inspection are performed to verify adherence to all applicable standards. Unique tooling was created specifically for this plating for the medical device industry project. Specialized furnace work is used to ensure proper plating adhesion to the substrate. As a result we are able to achieve much higher quality results than the customer’s previous supplier of plated medical devices. Prodigy Surface Tech is now the primary supplier for this component. This is an active project with an annual production rate of approximately 100,000 pieces. For additional details about the medical device plating project, please contact us directly.