MD&M West: 10 technologies you should know | Page 9 of 11

8. MicroCare Medical’s non-migrating lubricant

MicroCare Medical’s Duraglide dry lubricant coating takes advantage of a volatile carrier fluid that quickly deposits a thin, uniform, dry, lubricating PTFE film. [Image by managing editor Chris Newmarker]

MicroCare Medical at MD&M West demonstrated its Duraglide dry lubricant — a medical-grade PTFE lubricant coating. Duraglide takes advantage of a volatile carrier fluid that quickly deposits a thin, uniform, dry, lubricating PTFE film. The lubricant has shown itself able to impart ultra-low surface friction. It minimizes device actuation problems caused by “stacked tolerances” in medical device assemblies that are low speed and light load, according to the company.

And unlike competing lubricants with silicone, the lubricant is non-migrating.

“We’ve been talking a lot about it being non-migrating, and that seems to have hit a tone with the marketplace,” David Ferguson, senior market and technical manager at MicroCare Medical, told Medical Design & Outsourcing.

MicroCare (New Britain, Conn.) also had its Swellex silicone swelling agent. The proprietary solvent temporarily swells molded silicone rubber components and silicone rubber tubing to allow for easy assembly to (or over) rigid parts with complex geometry. The swelling agent then quickly evaporates wihtout leaving residue or impacting physical properties — with the treated component returning to its original size, according to MicroCare.