Studies/News
Autocam Medical Certified as Contract Manufacturer in Brazil
Autocam Medical (Kentwood, MI) announces that they have earned certification for contract manufacturing in Brazil through the government regulatory agency, VISA. Preparation for this certification has taken Autocam Medical-Brazil nearly one year to complete, and according to sources, they are the first American Company to achieve certification as a Contract Manufacturer of Machined Components for Medical use in Brazil. The company has a dedicated manufacturing facility in São João da Boa Vista, (State of São Paulo) to serve Brazilian Medical Device OEMs.
According to Tom O’Mara, Autocam Medical’s Executive Vice President, this new certification is a significant step forward for the company, “Brazil has been an important market for Autocam Corporation since 1998. Expansion into this high growth market for our Medical Division is a logical extension since we have a great management team and manufacturing expertise in Brazil.”
Headquartered in Kentwood, Michigan, Autocam Medical is a single-source provider of complex, highly engineered precision-machined components. It is a key member of the Autocam group of companies, which was founded in 1988 and now includes 11 facilities on four continents. For 23 years, Autocam Medical has leveraged its parent company’s award-winning manufacturing expertise and applied it to the unique needs of the global Medical Device market. It also has dedicated medical-device component manufacturing operations in Michigan, Massachusetts and California.
Autocam Medical to exhibit at OMTEC 2011
Orthopaedic Manufacturing and Technology Exposition and Conference
June 15-16, 2011, Chicago, Illinois.
Please visit us at booth number 345. Autocam Medical is a Bronze Sponsor this year, talk to us about becoming a partner for precision-machined implants, instruments and components.
Autocam Medical Hires a New General Manager to its Kentwood Facility
Autocam Medical has hired a new General Manager for its Kentwood, MI, facility. Kyle Osowski comes to the company with extensive experience in lean manufacturing and new product launches.
Kyle began his manufacturing career as an intern at the General Motors Flint Metal Center. After graduating from Aquinas College in 2002, he joined GM full-time as a first line supervisor, learning the complete manufacturing process from line supervision and production control to logistics to plant planning. Kyle was also responsible for master-planning 120 part numbers each week and identified a 25% reduction in labor across 18 lines and 3 shifts. After managing a pilot program focusing on lean activities and shorter lead times, he was promoted to Production Superintendent, responsible for over 500 employees. Kyle was also named the General Motors Flint Metal Center Champion for reducing premium freight by $1,000,000.
In 2006, Kyle entered the Medical Device industry, joining Orchid Unique Orthopedic Solutions as a Production Manager. He quickly implemented throughput and quality standards for plant personnel. Kyle also developed new lean-concept machining cells, specializing in cutting tools, drill bits, blades, reamers, and hand piece instrumentation. In 2008, he was promoted to Plant Manager. Kyle also increased on-time delivery for vendor-managed inventory production cells and instituted 4D problem-solving training for plant personnel.
Kyle joins the Autocam Medical team from Innovative Medical Device Solutions, formerly Leis Medical, where he served as Director of Engineering, responsible for product launch activities, including PFMEA, of 300 different part numbers.
Kyle’s rich engineering experience, understanding of the highly specialized medical manufacturing process and ability to improve product quality will benefit Autocam Medical’s customers.
Autocam Medical Expands its Kentwood Manufacturing Facility
Leveraging its six-year tax abatement from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA), Autocam Medical has significantly expanded its Kentwood, MI, manufacturing facility. The new 24,000-square-foot, 13485-certified facility reflects the company’s commitment to its Medical Device OEM customers and to the goal of expanding its presence in the Orthopedic, Trauma and Reconstructive medical markets.
The plant’s primary manufacturing processes include 5-axis milling, Swiss-style lathes and CNC precision grinding, all controlled with the latest SPC technology and traceability programs. The expanded space has also allowed for more vertical integration and secondary-finishing operations, including in-house laser marking, electro-polishing and passivation. The Kentwood facility has also acquired new wire EDM capabilities, specialized in-house tool forming and expanded raw material storage. At this location, Autocam Medical specializes in high-precision complex drills, drill bits, and other surgical instruments, such as screw drivers, taps, cutters and reamers. It also manufactures specialized orthopedic and reconstructive implants, specifically bone screws and bone plates.
Kentwood now employs 25 full-time positions, including Engineering support, two BSMEs, a CNC axis programmer, a CNC Swiss lathe programmer and a full-time Quality Engineer. A special hallmark of the Kentwood team is its deep understanding of the way instruments and implants interface in surgical procedures.
Case Study: Surgical Drill
Challenge: Autocam Medical independently proposed changes in an existing drill design for an OEM in order to deliver cost savings without sacrificing performance.
Autocam Medical’s Solution: Building on a history of manufacturing surgical drills for this customer, Autocam Medical’s engineers proposed a two-piece laser-welded construction.
The following characteristics would remain consistent with the original design.
• Overall length and tolerance of overall length
• Flute geometry
• Laser marking
• All other geometry with the addition of a laser-weld location
The body of the drill would be made from 17-4 PH H-900 and the fluted portion would remain 455 SSH-900. These changes resulted in a more efficient production process and a 15% cost savings due to raw material selection, all without sacrificing performance of the existing cutting edge. Upon approval, this design change had a secondary benefit of lead-time reduction.
Benefit to the Customer: The OEM trimmed 15% off production costs without sacrificing quality or functionality of the drill.
Processes: CNC Turning, Secondary Finishing
Value Engineering / Lead-time Reduction
Case Study: Phacoemulsification Handpiece
Challenge: Independently develop and share value-added process solutions with an established customer in order to obtain a better price position by improving the value stream.
Autocam Medical’s Solution: In order to assist an established OEM customer with market pricing pressures, Autocam Medical’s Process Improvement Team (PIT), comprised of engineering and manufacturing, proposed as solutions:
• Combine two parts into one, which would eliminate electron beam weld of these two parts
• Eliminate one heat treat operation
• Eliminate a costly custom fabricated filler used in a laser weld process
Originally, this Surgical Handpiece design required machining of two pieces, a second process of electron beam welding which was followed by a heat treating process to complete this component before advancing to the assembly of a laser welded irrigation component. Autocam leveraged its expertise in machining and custom tool design and fabrication, which allowed the suggestion for a one-piece design and the elimination of the laser welding of the irrigation component in assembly. Autocam Medical worked concurrently with the customer’s engineers to implement the improved design which benefited with lead times and allowed a 6% price reduction.
Benefit to the Customer: The OEM could received their Surgical Handpieces with reduced overall lead times by several weeks with a 6% cost reduction, allowing them to be more competitive in the marketplace.
Process Improvement / Cost Reduction / Speed-to-Market
Processes: CNC Lathe, Heat Treating, Laser Welding and Finishing Processes
Autocam to Invest Over $32 Million and Create 200 New Jobs
Today, the Autocam group of companies announced a plan to invest over $32 million dollars and create 200 new jobs in the next five years. Part of that expansion includes a six-year tax abatement from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA). “This is the type of collaboration and support growing Michigan businesses like Autocam need to compete and succeed,” said Birgit Klohs, President and CEO, The Right Place, Inc. “This project is the result of the full cooperation and teamwork of our partners in Kentwood and the State. We remain in a highly competitive global environment, and our ability to quickly work together, gives us a powerful strategic advantage.”
This partnership with MEGA will position the organization to capitalize on the transportation market’s transition toward more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles. This demand is expected to steadily increase over the coming years as emissions standards become more stringent domestically and internationally. In addition, the organization will have the financial flexibility to invest in projects that will support the enormous growth trends currently seen for surgical implants, instruments and devices. Autocam is a world leader in manufacture of high volume, precision-machined, extremely close tolerance, specialty metal alloy components and assemblies sold to the transportation and medical device industries. Autocam serves transportation and medical companies around the world from 14 facilities in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
Case Study: Implant Set for Surgical Kit
Challenge: A major medical orthopedic OEM requested a soft launch of 50 kits, including Implants: Plates, Screws, Buttons, Hooks and Instruments: Drivers, Drills, Depth Gauges and Guides – four months earlier than anticipated.
Autocam Medical’s Solution: Because Autocam Medical was involved in the product’s early planning, research and development stages, as well as provided prototypes and engineering support, the product was ready for launch earlier than expected. Based on positive testing results, the customer then decided on a soft launch to acquire valuable feedback from surgeons in the field. Committed to the success of the soft launch, Autocam Medical purchased additional technology, including state-of-the-art Matsuura CNC mills. Autocam Medical’s thorough understanding of implant-to-instrument interface ensured a successful development process and an efficient design for manufacturability. Working overtime, Autocam Medical’s team maximized their machining capacity to produce fifty complete kits with instruments and implants, in just four weeks.
Benefit to the Customer: Autocam Medical enabled their customer to launch a product line earlier than expected, allowing them to gain valuable user feedback from surgeons before committing to a final production run.
Processes: CNC Turned, CNC Milled, CNC Mill/Turn, Secondary Finishing, Subassembly
Responsiveness / Design for Manufacturability / Speed to Market