BOY in the Trade Press

Precision A Must For Pressure Catheter

as appeared in May 2000 issue of Injection Molding

Monitoring contractions when a mother-to-be is in labor is a critical part of the birthing process. These intrauterine pressure catheters, which are molded and assembled to exacting standards, do the job.

The catheter is designed and manufactured in Cherry Hill, NJ by Ludlow Technical Products. It consists of a male connector that plugs into a contraction monitor. The other end consists of a 1.75-inch polycarbonate connector that interfaces with a blue extruded component. This component performs the intrauterine duties and consists of an overmolded pressure sensor, provided to Ludlow by Illinois Precision.

Ludlow's responsibility is molding and assembling the connector to which the blue catheter connects (see photo). Each unit is tested before it goes out the door and must meet dimensional, performance, and pressure standards. The connector is molded by Ludlow in two halves in a four-cavity mold on a BOY machine. After ejection, the extruded catheter with leads is placed in one half of the connector while the top half is welded over it.

Frank LaFrazia, manufacturing support resources manager at Ludlow, says originally the design called for overmolding the connector around the catheter, but concern developed about the negative effects of high temperatures and the possibility that the catheter might shift in the mold. By moving to a welding process, Ludlow got better consistency and higher quality.

"The sonic welding process is consistent, and it's built such that you get audible and visible signal of failure or out-of-spec operation," says LaFrazia. The BOY molding machine molds the parts in a portable cleanroom equipped with Hepa filters.

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