automated grinding
of knee implants

PRECISION FOR MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

CROOM MEDICAL
ORTHOPEDIC IMPLANTS SINCE 1984

Headquarters: Limerick, Ireland

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PRECISE GRINDING
& POLISHING PROCESS

High level of automation across a complex process

Perfectly reproducible results

Reduced operator
health risks

SCOPE
OF WORK

AUTOMATION OF THE GRINDING PROCESS

  Relief from strenuous manual labor
  Homogeneous grinding of the surface
  Reduced processing time
  Compliance with medical quality criteria

Material: Cobalt-chromium alloy

"WITH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS THE ABG SYSTEM, WE CAN OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS COMPLETELY NEW SOLUTIONS”

Sean McConnell,
NPI Manager,
Croom Medical

INITIAL SITUATION

Croom Medical is a leading contract manufacturer of orthopedic implants with 40 years of experience. Based in Limerick, the company serves renowned OEMs and smaller companies worldwide. As an agile and innovative partner, Croom Medical supports its customers in bringing high-quality products to market faster and more efficiently, constantly exploring and utilizing the latest machinery, technologies, and materials for this purpose.

THE PROCESS

The manual finishing of implants, especially grinding and polishing, is a time-consuming and highly specialized process. It requires great skill and careful management of health risks due to vibration, dust and monotonous postures. For these reasons, an automation solution had to be found. However, the search initially failed, as the systems from various providers were unable to replicate the human touch for the task, and the results proved to be insufficient.

THE AUTOMATION

The solution was found in FerRobotics’ patented Active Compliant Technology (ACT), which enables active and precise force control and gives robots the necessary tactility for sensitive finishing. In the case of Croom Medical, the Active Belt Grinder (ABG) was used - a stationary belt grinding system with integrated ACT technology. The robot arm guides the knee implant to the ABG, which adapts to the shape of the workpiece and maintains the preset contact pressure thanks to its dynamic force control. Through this active force feedback in real time, the system not only replicates human sensitivity, but even surpasses it in terms of precision and consistency.

THE RESULT

  • Successful automation of the grinding/polishing process
  • Protection against ergonomic risks, dust and vibration
  • Higher throughput
  • Precisely reproducible results
  • Maximum process reliability

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