Automation Increases R&D Capabilities in Balloon Forming

HAHN Automation Group Builds Balloon Forming Equipment to Increase Flexibility

We designed and built an automated balloon molding system for a large catheter manufacturer. The new equipment improved temperature control and provided greater flexibility to handle product variation.

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  • Increased flexibility in R&D capabilities
  • Improved temperature control system
  • Reduced overall cycle time

 

Challenge

The customer produces balloon catheters and had begun R&D on longer product variations. Their molding equipment, however, was limited to testing fixed product sizes. While satisfied with the overall design of their existing system, they needed a solution that would allow greater flexibility in the lengths they could accommodate as well as ensure greater consistency. The lab team also wanted a modular design that could easily adapt to changes in the product design while remaining scalable to production equipment.
 

In addition to flexibility of product variation, they needed a way to speed up the molding process by decreasing the time to heat the necessary water tank to temperature. Their existing equipment took approximately four hours required an additional four hours to return to temperature any time a balloon popped—disrupting development efforts for a minimum of half a working shift.

 

Developing a Solution

HAHN Automation Group analyzed the customers existing lab equipment and process to understand their needs and challenges. We then designed a system that incorporated automated tooling and a reserve water talk system to meet their unique R&D requirements.

 

Process Overview

  1. Flexible Product Variation – Automated tooling accommodates a wide range of lengths and diameters.
  2. Multi-Axis Servo System – Ensures consistent material handling throughout the process, minimizing impact between stations.
  3. Temperature Control – Provides precise, rapid temperature adjustments, fully integrated with customer-specific recipe requirements.
  4. Modular Design – Easily adapts to changes, supporting ongoing customer research and development.

Results

The new system provides the customer with an automated, controlled R&D system that allows for a larger variation in length and recipes for development. Additionally, the time to heat the hot bath station was reduced from 4 hours to 20 minutes—making a significant impact on uptime.

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