Essentials in the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry
The healthcare industry is one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. In recent years, there has been a greater need for medical components to support wards and care homes as coronavirus patients are hospitalized overwhelming institutions and challenging their resources. Similarly, as we develop vaccines and transport these globally, pharmaceutical companies are faced with mass production issues to compete with the pandemic. This guide compiles a wide range of standard parts used in the healthcare industry to support medical professionals and personnel.
A variety of areas are covered in this article as we discuss components used on hospital machines, drips and surgery tables as well as ambulances and medication production machinery. Some of the standard parts mentioned include:
- Clevis forks and clevis eyes
- Levelling feet
- Handles
- Castors
- Support bases and tripod components
- Hand grips and control knobs
- Slam latches
When you register an account with WDS Components, you receive access to 3D CAD images for over 25,000 products completely FREE. This offers the Engineers and Designers within your team the chance to easily create accurate models for medical furniture and appliances. Our 3D models are compatible with the most popular CAD imaging software including (but not limited to) Inventor, SolidWorks and ME10. If you require additional support, get in touch with our Technical Team on 0333 043 5443 or use our online contact form and simply fill out the details of your enquiry.
Stainless Steel in the Medical Industry
The importance of hygiene has risen even more so during the Covid outbreak, hence stainless steel has grown in demand to protect a variety of environments. WDS Components has been able to fulfil this need by manufacturing an increased variety of components in stainless steel which can be identified on our website simply by searching for grades 303, 304 316.
Stainless steel is used across a number of industries including machinery and construction because of its well-known strength and durability but it's also incredibly popular in the medical industry for an array of appealing properties. Each grade of the material (303, 304 and 316, growing in strength respectively), has high corrosion resistance which is crucial especially during surgeries. If bacteria is transferred from equipment, instruments or surgeons to a patient, it can cause very serious, potentially fatal, infections, using stainless steel is an effective way to limit this possibility.
If you want to read more about the benefits of stainless steel or the difference between stainless steel grades, head over to our Tech Spec page for more technical information. You can also find spanner sizes, tolerances for holes and shafts and even a guide on thread dimensions to identify the difference between imperial and metric measurements.
Clevis Kits
Across the medical and pharmaceutical industry, a lot of equipment is used and altered multiple times throughout the day to accommodate various patients and their eclectic range of shapes and sizes. As medical professionals make these amendments, it's important to have reliable joints especially in activities alike surgery where accuracy is crucial to prevent risk and further harm to patients. WDS supply clevis kits including a variety of parts to suit plenty of applications. Choices include:
- Spring bolt
- E-clip
- Cotter pin
These kits are available in male and female variations totalling over 80 parts to choose from (aka. an Engineer's dream). They're also available in stainless steel so hygiene isn't something doctors or nurses will need to worry about in surgery. We have combined clevis forks and threaded clevis joints with various fasteners to improve the customer shopping experience; we've made specification easier for better efficiency when selecting parts to purchase. Our clevis kits are easy to install and provide the ideal solution to any movement ensuring your parts are securely in place- the assurance you need for medical procedures.
Levelling Feet
Stability is an important consideration if you have Lab Technicians working with expensive equipment like microscopes. Surfaces need to be flat so medical professionals can work safely and efficiently. An effective way to achieve that is with levelling feet. WDS Components have a large range of levelling feet including heavy duty and anti-vibration. These types are great for machines in drug production or conveyor systems that send medication along a line.
Another popular variation of levelling feet in the medical industry are those with EHEGD standards. The European Hygienic Engineering Design Group (EHEGD for short) is a global network of equipment manufacturers, research institutes and public health authorities. Whilst the organisation also includes food processing companies, beneficial to the food and beverage industry, the principle of hygiene and high health and safety standards remains the same and applies in the medical and pharmaceutical industry too. EHEGD aims to promote hygiene throughout all stages of production, processing and packaging, crucial for mass manufacturing of pharmaceutical goods and medication or vaccinations.
Check out our Grade 316 stainless steel hygienic levelling feet and EHEDG certified levelling feet right here for your next medical application whether it's in a laboratory, surgical theatre or medicinal production facility. If you need more assistance with your machine feet, get in touch with us! You can speak to our Technical Team directly on 0333 433 543 or drop them a message using our online contact form.
Handles
Handles are used throughout hospitals: on doors to surgery and other departments, for enclosures to chemical testing rooms, drawers in wards, everywhere! Because of this, it's relatively easy to spread bacteria across hospitals hence the need for easy handle washdown and nearby hand washing stations aplenty. These facilities can be fixed to walls using a range of our fasteners such as nuts, studs, screws and washers.
The extensive range of handles offered by WDS includes stainless steel bridge handles (similar to those in the image above) as well as plenty of other shapes, sizes and materials. There are four main styles on offer:
- Bridge and Bow Handles
- Case Handles
- Tray and Recessed Handles
- Ledge Handles and Pulls
Installing stainless steel options helps to prevent cross contamination for areas that need to be particularly free of bacteria. If you're seeking colour co-ordination to organise various elements, check out our bow pull handles available in a variety of colours such as pure orange, cadmium yellow, traffic green and more!
Castors
During COVID-19, WDS Components played a role in a number of key projects to help overcome and combat the virus. We provided a variety of parts to the London NHS Nightingale Hospital, set up to provide critical care throughout the crisis, including 10,000 castors for hospital beds. Our large range of wheels suit many different applications such as machines and tables as well as the aforementioned beds for patients.
In hospital and lab environments, hygiene is crucial and high health and safety standards apply. Equipment must be able to withstand intense washdown and provide resistance to corrosion. Stainless steel hosts these protective properties and provides the metal with a form of hardening; this stops bacteria from interfering with its deterioration and contamination in clean environments. In order to fit this specification, we supply grade 304 stainless steel frames with nylon wheels at affordable prices.
As well as fixing castors to hospital beds, they can be used for bedside furniture too such as chairs, moveable desks and supportive tables with adjustable bars to create a suitable height for patients or members of staff. Our castors come with swivel and brake options to easily transport furniture around hospital wards with the brake securing equipment in place safely for reliability. Read more about support bases below to find an alternative solution to support IV drips in a similar way to office wheels and chair castors.
Support Bases and Tripod Components
Not only do we supply support bases to stabilise IV stands and heart rate monitors but we offer an assortment of other conveyor components too. These standard parts are great for creating solid structures in the pharmaceutical industry for tasks like medication production.
Clamping rods are adjustable clamps for use with side guides. These should be used in conjunction with adjustable or fixed mounting brackets and can be positioned to customise production lines. We offer a variety of parts including single and double cone clamps to suit a number of different frames and designs.
Most of the clamping rod parts are manufactured using a combination of materials, predominantly stainless steel and thermoplastic. These resources enable us to supply strong and rigorous parts but in a cost-effective way for customers. In the clamping rails section, you'll find various clamp types such as cross clamps, photocell clamps and reflector clamps perfect for lots of different applications.
Other aspects to consider when creating an operations line are the ways in which products move between each zone or flow into a function change. WDS offer a variety of options to suit the application including:
- Conveyor support tubes
- Ball transfer units
- Omni skate wheels
If you'd like to read more about these options, head over to our Packaging Industry page to find out about the different types and options best for you.
Hand Grips and Control Knobs
Hand knobs are used throughout production facilities to alter machine equipment and fix elements securely in place. They can be applied to hospital beds to alter back supports, fixed onto IV stands so the height can be amended and plenty of other medical applications.
In some cases, hand grips need to be attached to additional support such as a lanyard to prevent unnecessary drops into or under machines which can cause time-consuming issues, general faults and lower productivity rates. These are great to use in vaccination production when it's crucial to get stock generated quickly and efficiently. Check out our hand knobs with loss prevention in the video above or head over to our New Products page for more information including details on how these engineering solutions can support elements of the EC Machinery Directory.
As well as hand knobs and thumb screws, we also supply a variety of control knobs useful for various functions such as emergency stops. You'll find our range is filled with different colours including red, yellow, grey and black for co-ordination, zones or warning. Some varieties also include standard scale marks to support engineering designs and applications.
Slam Latches
Ambulances carry a wide range of equipment to quickly support people in emergencies; it's important to be as fast as safely possible to help patients and protect their health. Interiors of emergency vehicles often feature various locks and catches to prevent medical equipment from moving around in the ambulance otherwise potentially causing collisions with passengers. Latches may also be used to store items away securely such as oxygen cannisters or medication. In order to achieve this, Engineers can consider installing locking plates and security covers or quarter turn handles. Alternatively, toggle latches can also be particularly helpful for smaller enclosures such as boxes or kits- these are now readily available through WDS Components in toggle latch and catch kits for easier specification.
Other vehicles besides ambulances such as organ or blood transportation vans can benefit from slam catches. These parts are easy to install and improve efficiency regarding quick turnaround times.
We've given you the lowdown on a number of our products perfect for medical institutions. If you're ready to place an order for tripod components, hand grips or other standard parts that are particularly helpful to your business, then head over to the product page and you can start adding items to your basket. Alternatively, you can contact our Sales Team on 0333 0433 543 and they can place your order over the phone. If you're still not quite sure what you need or require help with dimensions and/or other technical aspects, you can get in touch with our Support Team on the same number or use the online contact form.
We hope you've found this Medical and Pharmaceutical guide helpful! If you'd like more information about other trades such as Chandler and Marine, Food and Beverage, Woodworking and others, head over to our Industries page where we talk about the ideal parts for you.
