Berthoud, Colorado – December 29, 2010 – Associated Thermoforming Inc. (ATI), a company with 33 years experience in medical thermoforming, is helping medical product innovators like ConMediSys (CMS) bring revolutionary products to life. Recently, ATI put the finishing touches on the custom plastic enclosure for MediGLIDER, a lateral transfer system that safely and gently moves patients from hospital beds to a mobile gurney. The MediGLIDER’s™ unique slide-and-lift motion eliminates the need for several medical staff to perform the heavy lifting function. Learn more about the MediGLIDER™.
To enhance the appearance and promote the safety of MediGLIDER™, Associated Thermoforming employed their seasoned manufacturing design and tooling capabilities. Discussing the project, John Nix, President of ATI, said, “Selecting the material best suited to the product’s environment, application and safety requirements were critical factors in our design collaboration process with the CMS.” When asked how their expertise led them to a successful solution, Nix continued, “Our experience in medical thermoforming enabled us to create enclosures for the GLIDER that not only protect the operator and patient from internal machinery, but which are also easy to clean, an essential element in the healthcare environment.”
Because the front and back covers for MediGLIDER™ are susceptible to bumps in hospital doors and walls, they needed to be very strong. To make the MediGLIDER™ safe and aesthetically appealing to patients and staff members alike, ATI designed the fire-retardant custom plastic enclosures with a color-matched semblance. The pressure-forming technique was employed on the large external covers to provide a more refined appearance.
Transferring patients from hospital beds to gurneys is often required for a variety of medical procedures, such as receiving X-Rays. In addition to being disruptive, lifting the patient is a leading cause of workplace injuries for hospitals and healthcare facilities.*
“Our strength is in recommending and developing proper materials for safety, with an eye always on manufacturing repeatability and cost avoidance. Designing cost-effective medical plastic enclosures includes precise documentation so that the design can be reproduced according to the exact specifications year after year. Our focus on process control helps us design high-quality products that offer long-term performance, as well as cost effectiveness.” explained Nix.
With their Enterprise Resource Planning System software tool, ATI effectively and efficiently manages product quantity changes in real-time, keeping them a step above the competition in managing multipart projects in a dynamic environment.
Describing their process, Nix stated “Our ERP system allows us to take care of multiple GE Healthcare products in the same environment. We can have eight or nine part numbers on our system with two per system and easily manage capacity throughout our plant. This is our defining strength-by implementing it during new product development, it allows us to accommodate buyers by quickly adapting to changes in product needs.”
“ATI’s experience with manufacturing design, materials, tooling, medical thermoforming and molding is more than impressive. We sought their assistance to finalize wall thicknesses, corner radii, mold design details, assembly details and dimensioning schemes for MediGLIDER™ and their expertise was invaluable,” said Gary W. Pankonien, Chief Operating Officer for ConMediSys, Inc.
Pankonien further added, “ATI recommended materials based on their long record of success making similar parts. When changes were necessary, they were able to review the design, and implement the changes with minimal impact.”
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About Associated Thermoforming Inc.
Associated Thermoforming Inc. (ATI) is an industry leader in the heavy-gauge thermoforming process for innovative industries and specializes in technically challenging plastics solutions including vacuum forming, pressure forming and twin sheet thermoforming, CNC trimming, full secondaries and in-house tooling. ATI tools and manufactures structural and decorative parts for many industries including medical, automotive, recreation, food/beverage, and computer and data storage creating innovative thermoforming solutions and counseling on materials selection, regulatory requirements, attaining cost targets and Kanban support at our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Berthoud, Colo. For more information, visit: www.ATI-forms.com or call John Nix, ATI President, at (970) 532-2000.
* The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, William Charney author, “Back Injury Among Healthcare Workers, 2007.”
Read a testimonial from the Chief Operating Officer at MediGLIDER™
