At ARRK, we listen to our clients’ needs. That’s why we constantly adjust our range of services.
Today, we are happy to announce the internalisation of certain metrology services. This will allow our clients to benefit from packaged 3D printing services as well as the production of small series. Overview of the medical robot project of the manufacturer BA Healthcare.
About the BA Healthcare project
ARRK worked with BA Healthcare on a mobile medical imaging project for use in heart surgery. Following the initial development of prototypes, our collaboration went on to include the production of small series of wheel protection and cable guide parts.
Pascal recalls: “We had already been working for this client for 3 years when we received an order for 20 batches of 8 vacuum-cast parts. On a second occasion, the client asked us for 120 sets of series parts in ABS-type polyurethane (PU) resin. They needed to perfectly fit the components of robots from various technologies.“
ARRK’s culture of quality and proven production capacities
Our client said: “For BA Healthcare, it is essential to find a partner well-known for the indisputable quality of its products. The medical sector is demanding, it follows regulations that are sometimes drastic with no margin for error. Within the framework of our ISO 13485 certification specific to medical devices, our qualification procedures led us to perform an on-site audit of our ARRK factory. We also had to ensure the traceability of the materials for our products subject to flammability regulation UL94 V-0.“
“It’s a production organisation of perfect structure and size to cater for our repeat orders for small series which introduced itself to us. Furthermore, as a Buyer, it is important for me to reference a supplier that masters a sufficiently varied range of technology and materials to follow the evolution of our developments and to which to entrust projects of various types.ARRK met our specifications to the letter!”, our client added.
Manufacturing of small series, a developing trend
Pascal, Project Manager at ARRK, explained: “We deal with a growing number of orders for small series, from a few units to several hundred. In this area of activity, our clients contact us for three main reasons:
- Companies that supply niche markets find in us an inexpensive solution that avoids them having to invest in a tool that, by its nature, would require the subsequent production of large volumes to pay it off.
- As a prototype producing company, we are known for our responsiveness; it is part of who we are. This quality allows our clients to adapt to the demands of their clients, almost in real time, and stagger deliveries.
- ARRK is well-known for its adaptability and its capacity to carry out customised or special production (colour, insert assembly, marking). “
Metrology, an issue for the production of small series.
As they form part of the end products and as their useful life is longer than that of classic prototypes, series parts must meet demanding quality and repeatability criteria. The metrology aspect consists of performing very precise sizing controls that allow the necessary certificates to validate the series to be issued.
Pascal specified that: “For the BA Healthcare project, the tolerance thresholds were similar to those of injection moulding. We therefore conducted dimension and geometry controls on the parts using our sensor (precision of 8 µm). In agreement with the client and considering the price-quality ratio of the metrology services, we agreed to check three parts per silicone mould, i.e., 24 units per part.“
At ARRK, we have a range of metrology solutions. For the measurement and inspection of complex geometry we offer 3D scan technology with a three-dimensional measurement machine that uses a portable probe from Keyence. This technology allows us to digitally capture the shape of an object to position the measurement points in the right place and validate the dimensions of the plan.
