Case Pharma & Medical
Small, but deep drawn
For our customer we developed deep drawn components for hearing aids.
The product
1
The goal of our customer from the medical technology industry was to manufacture hearing aids with metal housing. Due to the complex shape and the different requirements (including weight, conductivity, tightness, ergonomics), they confronted us with a very small and multi-part basic idea. The hearing aid manufacturer commissioned us to investigate how these components can be manufactured efficiently and ideally also simplified.
The requirements
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The difficulty in this project was especially the asymmetrical shape of the product, which was a mandatory requirement for a successful implementation due to the ergonomic demands on a hearing aid. On the other hand, the main task was to find suitable materials which, on the one hand, are easy to process and, on the other hand, fulfill the desired properties of the end product.
The solution
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Due to our many years of manufacturing experience, it is possible for us to draw components that deviate massively from the ideal of rotational symmetry. The number of components could thus be reduced to two deep drawn bodies: One for the battery, the other for the electronics. Compared to the basic idea, this enabled the customer to save one third of the interfaces during installation. For one component we chose cladded material, for the other stainless steel.
The manufacture of prototypes using a soft tool enabled our team to find a cost-efficient way to produce the first parts on the series press and to optimise the process on the basis of the knowledge gained so that the products are ready for serial production and can now be manufactured process-safe in high quantities for the customer.
At a glance
- Manufacture of strongly asymmetrical geometries
- Use of special materials
- Cost efficiency through reduction of component variety