Manufacturing efficiency: increasing production yields and reducing production waste as applied to scaffold manufacturing
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Authors
King, Kirsten
Wetzel, Darren
Issue Date
2011
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Engineering management
Alternative Title
Abstract
This paper primarily discusses the improvements related to the manufacturing of bio-resorbable vascular scaffolds. Scaftfolds are coated with a drug and designed to be slowly metabolized by the body through the hydrolytic process and completely absorbed, allowing the arteries to remain open without foreign objects being left in the body. The purpose of this paper to identify and analyze the scaffolds manufacturing process in order to determine methods for reducing manufacturing scrap and improving yields. The hypothesis of this paper is to improve the overall process (tube expansion and laser cutting) yield from a combined yield of 46% to greater than or equal to 70%.