Textile Construction
ATEX is a world class leader in the development of implantable textile components for the medical device industry. We have spent over 20 years becoming fully vertically integrated in everything that we do. From yarn manufacturing all the way through the final inspection process, you can rest assured that ATEX will be a competent and reliable solutions provider for your complex component designs. Through the years, ATEX has evolved from manufacturing standard flat Polyester and Polypropylene fabrics into the high-tech, innovative manufacturing partner we are today. With a strong desire to expand our technological advancements, while fully understanding the medical device industry, we have brought many new manufacturing capabilities to the forefront including, but not limited to, melt extrusion, narrow fabric and tubular graft weaving, tubular and small diameter knitting, broad loom weaving, braiding, 2 and 3 dimensional shaped articles, and a dedicated nonwoven line for implantable felts.
Yarn Extrusion and Processing:
Medical textile design and production begins with the medical grade fiber (yarn). The medical device component requirements must be used to determine the appropriate medical yarn and medical textile design. The selection of a specific medical fiber or medical yarn must consider requirements for:
- Absorbency
- Strength
- Permeability
- Tissue in-growth
- Duration of body contact
- Device mechanical properties
- Sterilization
- Creep
- Bio-absorbability
ATEX Technologies extrudes its own polyester fiber, along with other thermoplastic polymers, in-house, customizing it to meet your design requirements. We can control the properties of the yarn, and ultimately the component, by expertly monitoring the entire process ensuring performance and uniformity. WE EVEN HAVE A MASTER FILE ON OUR PET MATERIAL. The ATEX R&D and biomaterials engineering groups have the skill and expertise to assist you in selecting the appropriate medical fiber for your device.
Weaving:
The process of interlacing two yarns so that they cross each other at right angles to produce a woven fabric. A woven fabric is comprised of warp yarns in the longitudinal (machine) direction and weft yarns in the crosswise direction. The warp and weft yarns may be the same fiber and same size or they may be different in fiber type and size. Key characteristics of woven fabrics include:
- Dimensional stability
- Controlled porosity
- Diagonal stretch
- High multi-directional strength
The value of woven grafts in an implantable medical device include:
- Low profile design
- Low delivery forces required
- Ease of Deployment
- Resilient
- High degree of coagulation
- Low permeability
- Strength
- Compressibility
- Insulation against friction and tissue wear
- Abrasion resistance
- Mechanical patency
Medical Fabrics can be woven into multiple shapes based on your design requirements. Component shapes include:
- Flat sheets
- Narrow fabric tapes
- Straight tubes
- Bifurcated tubes
- Tapered tubes
- Fenestrated tubes
ATEX possesses the expertise to produce a wide variety of component shapes from a woven fabric. Click HERE to learn more.
Knitting:
Knitting is a method of constructing fabric by interlocking a series of loops of one or more yarns. Warp knitting is a type of knitting in which the yarns generally run lengthwise in the fabric. The yarns are prepared as warps on beams with one or more yarns for each needle. Examples of warp knitting include Tricot, Milanese, and Raschel knitting.
Key characteristics of knit fabrics include:
- Dimensional flexibility
- Conformability
- Controlled porosity
- Resistance to un-raveling
The value of knit fabrics in an implantable medical device may include:
- High degree of tissue in-growth
- Controlled degree of elongation
- Compressibility
- Inherent Elasticity/Flexibility
- Macro-porous to minimize infection
- Soft against tissue
- High burst strength
Medical Fabrics can be knit into a variety of shapes based on your biomedical structure’s requirements, including:
- Flat Sheets
- Tubes
- Fenestrated Tubes
- Double Knit Structures (two layers knit together)
- Spacer Fabrics (three dimensional structure)
ATEX possesses the expertise to produce a wide variety of component shapes from a knit fabric. ATEX can also customize any component by employing our extensive fabrication and enhancement capabilities. These include fabric dying and marking, precision cutting and even custom coatings. Learn more about our custom fabrications and enhancements here.
Braiding:
A process in which three or more yarns are entwined with one another such so that they cross one another to make continuous narrow strands, much like rope. A braid structure or pattern can incorporate flexible materials such as textile fibers, yarns or wire, referred to as ends or carriers on the machine. The simplest possible braid is a flat, solid, three-end structure. More complex braids can be constructed with additional ends such as an even number of ends to create a wider range of round cords or hollow structures: wider ribbon-like bands use odd number of ends, and depending on the braid angle, may resemble a woven pattern.
Key characteristics of braided textiles include:
- High strength
- Low profile
- Versatility
- Chinese finger cuff ability
The value of braided textiles in an implantable medical device may include:
- High Strength
- Low creep
- Low elongation
- Flexibility
- Low Profile
Fabrics can be braided into a variety of shapes based on your biomedical structure’s requirements, including:
- Sutures
- Conduits / Sleeves
- Tapes
- Slit tapes
- Braid over core
- Cables
- Looped Cables and Braids
ATEX possesses the expertise to produce a wide variety of component shapes from a braided textile and we welcome you to reach out to us to learn more!
Non Wovens:
Non woven fabrics are made when short and or long fibers are bonded together through chemical, mechanical , heat or solvent treatments. Fabric broadly defined as a sheet or web structure bonded together by entangling medical fibers or filaments (and by perforating films) mechanically, thermally or chemically. They are flat, porous sheets that are made directly from separate fibers or from molten plastic or plastic film.
The fibers in a non-woven may be oriented in one direction or randomly throughout the fabric. Multiple layers can be combined to achieve desired strength, elongation and other mechanical properties. Porosity can be controlled by varying fiber diameter, fiber density, fiber orientation and additional mechanical processing.
Key characteristics of non-woven fabrics include:
- Dimensional stability
- Strength
- Durability
- Resilience
- Low elongation
- Porosity level controlled based on specific processing
The value of non-woven fabrics in an implantable medical device may include:
- High degree of tissue in-growth
- Controlled permeability
- Low degree of elongation
- Absorbent / Non-absorbent (material dependent)
Non-woven fabrics can be produced for a variety of applications based on your biomedical structure’s requirements, including:
- Encouraging Tissue Growth (Tissue Scaffolds, Tissue in-growth cuffs)
- Tissue protection (pledgets)
ATEX possesses the expertise to produce non-woven fabrics based on your design requirements.
In addition to the above, hybrid materials can also be manufactured to meet your specific component requirements. Click here to discuss!
Hybrids:
Hybrid fabrics include more than one type of structural fiber in its construction. Hybrid fabrics allow two or more fibers to be constructed into one or more layers of fabric. In a woven hybrid fabric it is possible to have one fiber running in the weft (crosswise) direction and the second fiber running in the warp (longitudinal) direction. It is also possible to use a combination of different fiber types in each warp and weft direction.
Although hybrids are most commonly found in knit fabrics, the principle is also used in weaving, braiding, and non-woven fabrics. Hybrids are often used for:
- Surgical meshes
- Scaffolds
- Surgical grafts
- Wound dressings
Typical hybrid combinations include:
- Polypropylene/Polyglycolic acid (PGA)
- Polypropylene/Polylactic acid (PLA)
- Polyester/Nitinol
Let's partner and innovate together
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component needs.