One such client, an East Coast medical device manufacturer, came to Three M Tool seeking a wire basket solution to hold small tubes used during laparoscopy, a type of minimally-invasive surgical procedure that allows surgeons to access the interna abdomen and pelvis without the need for large incisions. The custom solution in question would need to hold the tubes stable during cleaning and transportation.
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As we approached this project, we knew that — as with any parts and tools used in surgical procedures — the comprehensive sanitation of the medical tubes was the primary concern. But this custom project was especially exciting for our team due to the client’s unusual requirements for the wire basket design itself. Read on to learn more about the design, development and manufacturing of this custom wire basket for medical parts washing.
The Challenge: Stainless Steel Parts Cleaning Baskets — With No Metal-to-Metal Contact?
Three M Tool was asked to create a wire basket solution that could hold 200 stainless steel medical tubes securely through rigorous cleaning and transportation processes, namely nitric passivation and aqueous cleaning, robotic loading and unloading, Scotch-Brite™ treatment, and transportation.
But this client’s request came with a unique — and challenging — requirement: The medical tubes contained by the custom basket solution could not have metal to metal contact. The basket also had to drain properly and thoroughly, leaving no watermarks or scratches from processing on the tubes. The project would be considered a success if the tubes cleared the cleaning process with minimal or no markings while also achieving optimal throughput.
Our Solution: Custom Industrial Stainless Steel Basket for Medical Parts Cleaning
We were excited to tackle this interesting project, as we knew our custom wire basket design and engineering expertise was perfectly suited to help our client find an effective solution. Wire baskets offer many benefits when used in applications like medical parts washing and sanitizing; the open spaces offered by wire mesh allow for unblocked flow of air, liquid or ultrasonic waves around the parts, and the basket’s capacity, materials and finishes can all be customized to ensure both the basket and the parts withstand the cleaning process without sustaining damage. A custom wire basket was the clear solution for this client, and the Three M Tool team was eager to dig into the design challenge posed by the restriction against metal-to-metal contact.
Our engineering team began the custom wire basket design and manufacturing process by assessing the physical parts’ required dimensions and delivered an initial prototype design to the customer for their evaluation. We then collaborated with the customer to refine the design, answering their questions and resolving any potential issues before generating a physical prototype for the customer to test.
Recently, we talked about the utility of baskets with lids, and even discussed how compartmentalized lids could help streamline the parts washing process a little. However, there’s more to making sure that you can wash numerous parts at the same time without damaging them than just making sure that they don’t fall out of the basket.
Left to sit loose in a basket, parts that are not properly constrained will bounce and roll around, hitting each other and potentially causing damage. To prevent this, it is important to segment washing baskets so that parts are held apart from one another.
Using Dividers to Wash Multiple Parts
By creating custom-formed dividers for washing baskets, you can compartmentalize the entire basket to make washing multiple different parts much simpler. If you have numerous different small parts that can go through the same washing process, using a basket with dividers can allow you to wash them all at once to save time.
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By custom-shaping the dividers, you can make sure that the parts they hold will fit snugly, preventing excessive rattling from the washing process and keeping them from being scratched or damaged. Combining compartmentalized lids with basket dividers allows you to quickly remove one set of parts from the basket if necessary for your process while keeping other parts constrained.
Using Removable Dividers to Increase Utility
While for some parts washing processes, you may want to keep the dividers in the basket indefinitely by welding them in place, you don’t always have to do so. You can maximize the utility of each basket by using removable dividers instead of permanently-attached ones.
With a removable divider, you can put the dividers in for use with multiple smaller parts to keep them separated during their washing process, and then take the divider out for washing larger parts that can still fit in the basket. Naturally, it is best if the basket is designed to hold both sets of parts from the beginning.
Removable vs. Welded
Whether or not you want to use removable basket dividers over ones that are welded in will depend on what you need most from your material washing and handling baskets.
Removable basket dividers provide:
- Greater utility in the number of part types that can be held within.
- Added redundancy by giving each basket more than one use (if the dividers are lost or damaged, the basket can still be used for larger parts until you can replace said dividers).
Welded basket dividers have advantages such as:
- Generally being sturdier.
- Lower likelihood of losing basket parts.
- Eliminate the possibility of using the wrong dividers with the wrong baskets.
If you have multiple different parts baskets that use dividers, sometimes simply making the dividers a permanent part of the basket is the easiest solution for making sure that there is no confusion as to which basket is for which part. However, using baskets with removable and adjustable dividers allows you to wash multiple different kinds of parts with the same basket, which means not having to keep quite as many baskets on hand at once and making storage of the baskets easier when they’re not being used.
Whether you need baskets with removable dividers, welded-in dividers, or no dividers at all, you can be sure that your custom material handling basket is the right one for the job when it is made by an experienced and knowledgeable engineer who designs it to meet your needs.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Custom Wire Container.