Catheter Hole Punch Machine

Save time and money when catheter hole drilling with CATHTIP’s automated catheter hole punch machines. Make clean and fast catheter holes with this table top, four axis stepper motor controlled machine.

The 400 Series catheter hole punch machine incorporates flexible controls, intuitive touchscreen HMI, light curtain safety circuits, various sensor capabilities, and tool-free drill bit and fixture change-overs. Auto zeroing of drill bit (no touch off requirement) on drill changes or machine startup.

Cores are evacuated through a CATHTIP Flow Thru™ drill bit and through the machine to a collection filter for clean, debris-free work area. The drill head is equipped to drill holes from ø0.016″ to ø0.086″ with interchangeable drills. Tooling change or drill change to be in 1 minute, or less, by trained operator.

HMI control with touch display keypad is provided on the catheter hole punch equipment. The HMI indicates user-specified alarms, machine status, indexing errors, and cycle interrupts. A copy of the data file and control application will be provided with the catheter machine for engineer convenience.

Catheter Hole Punch Benefits:

• High Precision, Four Axis, Open Loop, Stepper Motor Controlled Motion
• Flow Thru™ Vacuum Equipped
• Core Capture Technology
• Designed for Tool-Free Drill Change & Interchangeable Tooling
• Auto Drill Detection & Homing
• HMI Controlled with Status Alerts & Process Inputs
• Integrated Drill Cycle / Parts Count
• Small Footprint Tabletop Workstation (approx. 18”W x 33”L)
• Full Safety Shields -or- Light Curtains
• Integrated Emergency Stop

Key benefits and features of the 400 Series automated catheter hole punch machines:

Speed

Five holes can be made in a second
4 axis stepper motor control. Stepper motors, 50,800 steps/rev, matched to the inertia of the driven mechanism makes for steep and controlled acceleration ramps in four axis (drill feed, drill rotation, linear index, rotary index). Multiple catheter hole punch drill heads can be added to increase cutting speed.

Quality

Clean, controlled holes
Cutting parameters stored in the program of the machine drive the drill precisely through the wall of the catheter to make a hole that is rounded on the outside and burr free on the inside. Both drills and catheter are held in position with high accuracy to deliver the utmost results.

Captured Cores

No loose cores
The cores are immediately evacuated through the drill bit at the moment of creation – therefore isolating them completely as they then travel through the machine and are captured in a filter chamber. This virtually eliminates the chance of loose cores in the catheter or uncut holes, while keeping the work area clear of debris.

Hole Verification

Safety Assurance
To assure cores aren’t remaining in drilling holes we offer an option to verify catheter holes are clear of cores and other debris. This option will catch a poorly set up machine and a dulling drill bit.

Flexibility

Wide range of applications
The machine can accept catheter diameters from 3 French (0.040˝) to 28 French (0.368˝). Hole diameter down to 0.018˝. The linear indexer can be stretched to accommodate hole spacing to 4 feet. The machine can be adapted with multiple drill heads to make two or three different hole diameters in one drill cycle.

Versatile Tooling

Suitable for many lumen configurations
The machine can be tooled for complex lumen configurations. This includes double Dee, concentric tubes, double barrel shotgun, crescent moon, 8 lumen etc. High magnification camera can be added to accurately locate the smallest lumen.

Low Operating Cost

No disposable mandrel
The cost of a disposable inner mandrel is eliminated in our catheter hole punch. The sharp cutting edge of the drill can eliminate the need for an inner support. When the sharp edge is inadequate for difficult materials we use a permanently mounted soft tip mandrel to replace the disposable inner mandrel.

Quick and Easy Set-Up

Fast because parameters stored in memory
All set-up parameters are stored in the memory of the stepper motor controller. As many as seven different set-ups can be stored. The person changing a set up only needs to change the drill bit, zero the drill bit edge against the surface of the catheter, and move a tooling plate to a new position. An experienced technician can do this in a couple of minutes.