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Thin Wall Tubing, Composite Tubing, & Coated Wire

Integer® is a global leader in the design, development, and manufacturing of thin wall tubing, composite tubing, and coated wire. We provide a full range of solutions including polyimide tubing, thin-walled reinforced shafts, variable flexibility shafts, lubricious PTFE/polyimide tubing, and fine wire coating. Our efficient processes and decades of expertise ensure that your single-lumen, multi-lumen, and multi-layer catheters get to market faster with uncompromising reliability and quality.

  • Vertical integration of the plastic compounding, filmcast, and structural reinforcement (braid or coil) processes simplifies the supply chain
  • Extensive engineering and manufacturing expertise to manufacture a broad range of catheter shafts and medical tubing
  • Our customer service team, engineers, metallurgists, Ph.D. scientists, and other technical experts work collaboratively with customers on a wide array of components, sub-assemblies and finished devices

We manufacture polyimide tubing using a filmcast process that provides tight tolerances at small dimensions superior to extrusion. Polyimide is a high-performance polymer that provides excellent chemical, thermal, dielectric, abrasion resistance, and mechanical performance processes. Our team of technical experts produces polyimide tubing for a broad range of cardiac, endovascular, and non-vascular clinical applications.

Applications

  • EP catheter liners and shafts
  • Structural heart delivery system liners and shafts
  • Pull wire lumens
  • Guidewire lumens
  • Crossing and support catheters
  • Neurovascular microcatheters
  • Thrombectomy delivery systems
  • Catheters for urology applications
  • Cryogenic applications
  • Stone retrieval devices
  • Vascular closure devices
  • Lead wire delivery devices
  • Puncture tools

Specifications

  • ID: 002”- 0.150”
  • Wall Thickness: 0003” - 0.010”
  • Modulus of Elasticity: 450 - 600 Ksi
  • Cut Lengths: Up to 80" (2.032 m)
  • Tensile Strength: 20,000 psi
  • Thermal Range: -452 to 700ºF
  • Dielectric Strength: 3500 to 4000 VDC
  • Colors: Natural, Green, Red, Black

Key Properties

  • High-temperature tolerance
  • Excellent thermal stability
  • High tensile strength
  • Excellent dielectric properties
  • Ultra-thin walls
  • Maintains properties at small sizes
  • Sterilizable (EtO or gamma)

We produce PTFE liners using a filmcast process at tight tolerances with ultra-thin walls, enabling engineers to increase the catheter lumen and lower the overall profile of the device. These combined features support the design of advanced catheters and delivery systems for a range of cardiac and endovascular clinical applications.

Applications

  • Liners for electrophysiology, peripheral vascular, neurovascular, and structural heart catheters and delivery systems
  • Pull wire lumens
  • Guidewire lumens

Specifications

  • ID’s: 006”- 0.100”
  • Wall: 0005” - 0.0020”
  • Modulus of Elasticity: 40-70 Ksi
  • Supplied over silver-plated copper or annealed stainless steel cores
  • Supplied spooled or cut to length
  • In-house chemical-etched ODs for bonding
  • Available with tie layers such as Tecoflex® and Pebax® for better bonding after reflow

Key Properties

  • Very lubricious
  • Ultra-thin walls

Reinforced shafts provide added torque response, burst pressure, pushability, steerability, and kink resistance. Our team of technical experts has extensive experience engineering and manufacturing complex reinforced shafts. We achieve required dimensions while accounting for inherent physical limitations such as inner liner thickness, outer jacket thickness, and wire density (defined as pic per inch for braid). Our advanced capabilities enable us to combine a variety of materials and braid/coil sizes. We create unique reinforced shafts at precise manufacturing tolerances to produce ultra-thin walled reinforced catheter shafts and medical tubing.

Applications

  • Microcatheters
  • Stent delivery systems
  • Embolic delivery systems
  • Steerable introducer sheaths
  • Structural heart delivery systems
  • Endoscopic channels
  • EP catheters

ID Materials

  • PTFE
  • Polyimide
  • PTFE doped polyimide
  • FEP (extruded)
  • ETFE (extruded)
  • PFA (extruded)
  • PEEK (extruded)
  • Pebax® (extruded)
  • Nylon (extruded)
  • Urethane (extruded)
  • HDPE (extruded)

Braid/Coil Wire Sizes Stocked (SS304V)

  • 0003” x 0.0035”
  • 0005” x 0.0025”
  • 0005” x 0.003”
  • 0007” x 0.003”
  • 0007” x 0.005”
  • 001” x 0.003”
  • 001” x 0.005”
  • 001” x 0.005”
  • 0010” Round
  • 0015” Round
  • 0020” Round

OD Materials

  • Polyimide
  • PTFE doped polyimide
  • FEP
  • Pebax®
  • Tecoflex®
  • Vestamid®
  • Grilamid®

Key Properties

  • Improved torque response
  • Higher burst pressure
  • Pushability
  • Steerability
  • Kink resistance
  • Elongation resistance

Our variable flexibility shaft technology provides advanced filmcast composite shaft solutions for minimally invasive devices. We utilize a continuous manufacturing process with selective removal of high-modulus polyimide from the braid wire and replace it with a softer polymer. This process produces a catheter shaft with variable properties along the length. Additionally, this highly automated and efficient process eliminates the need for manual assembly of discrete segments. Our variable flexibility shaft technology is optimal for shaft-based devices that require maximal flexibility on the distal section for excellent navigation and a more rigid, pushable proximal shaft for enhanced directional control for the physician.

Applications

  • Microcatheters
  • Support catheters
  • Stone retrieval devices

Specifications

  • Transition: 0 - 1"
  • Typical Construction
    • PTFE liner
    • Braid
    • Polyimide (selective)
    • Outer jacket

Key Properties

  • Variable flexibility at low cost
  • Low profile shaft
  • High performance

PTFE-Doped Polyimide (ID/OD)
Our lubricous PTFE-impregnated (up to 40% PTFE) polyimide tubes provide reduced surface friction, excellent thermal stability in high and low temperatures, flame resistance, chemical resistance, and dielectric properties.

PTFE / Polyimide (PI) Layered (ID/OD)
We manufacture PTFE / PI composite tubes with layered constructions comprised of conventional polyimide or PTFE / PI composites. Composite layering enables further shaft customization to support a range of clinical cardiac, endovascular, and non-vascular applications.

Applications

  • EP catheter liners and shafts
  • Structural heart delivery system liners and shafts
  • Pull wire lumens
  • Guidewire lumens
  • Crossing and support catheters
  • Neurovascular microcatheters
  • Thrombectomy delivery systems
  • Catheters for urology applications
  • Lead wire delivery devices
  • Insulated wire

Key Properties

  • High modulus
  • Low coefficient of friction
  • Thermal stability
  • Good dielectric properties
  • Chemical resistance

Polyimides provide consistent performance properties through high and low temperatures and possess excellent dielectric properties. Fine wire coated with polyimide is thermally stable, biocompatible, and resistant to abrasion. We manufacture coated fine wire for ablation, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, and peripheral vascular applications.

Applications

  • Thermocouples to measure temperature
  • Signal wires for EP catheters
  • Thermistor wires for ablation tips
  • Sensor wires for imaging and sensing applications
    (IVUS, FFR)
  • Electromagnetic coils

Materials

  • Coating Thickness: as low as 0.0003" (0.0076 mm)
  • Wire Diameter: as low as 0.0015" (0.0381 mm) depending on wire material
  • Wire Types:
    • Copper
    • Silver-plated copper
    • Copper clad
    • Nitinol
    • Nickel
    • Constantan
    • Stainless Steel
    • Platinum
    • MP35N
    • Alloy 11
    • Other wire materials available upon request
  • Thermal Range: -452 to 700ºF
  • Dielectric Strength: 3500 to 4000 VDC
  • Colors: Natural, Green, Red, Black
  • Available in spooled lengths

Key Properties

  • High-temperature tolerance
  • Excellent thermal stability
  • High tensile strength
  • Excellent dielectric properties
  • Sterilizable (EtO or gamma)