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VascuLathe^® represents a revolutionary approach to satisfying the demanding requirements of stent manufacturing applications. The fully integrated motion system couples automated material handling functionality and wet cutting operation with high performance direct-drive linear and rotary motion capability.

Integral Linear/Rotary
The integral linear-rotary design has much greater stiffness and lower moving mass resulting in an overall higher dynamic stiffness when compared to component-based systems. The resulting increased bandwidth provides throughput improvements on the order of two to five times when compared to traditional component-level manufacturing approaches, while still maintaining submicron tolerances on tight part geometries. The higher throughput of the VascuLathe^® implies that fewer machines are required to produce an equivalent number of stents, resulting in lower total labor costs and reduced floor space requirements. Alternatively, the VascuLathe^® can be used to meet increased product demand within the existing manufacturing space, saving the costs associated with facilities expansion.

Automated Material Handling
The VascuLathe^® is a complete motion and material handling subsystem. The system includes an automated, pneumatically activated ER collet assembly as well as an optional combined bushing/tube advance mechanism that enables the sequential, unattended manufacture of multiple stents from a single length of tubing material. A wet cutting configuration is also available for applications that require fluid delivery through the stent material during the manufacturing process.

Advanced Control Architecture
The VascuLathe^® is coupled to Aerotech’s advanced A3200 control system. The A3200 is a 100% digital system with high performance FireWire^® networked drives. With this fully digital architecture, it is possible to optimize the current, velocity, and position servo loops for maximum performance. Advanced trajectory generation capabilities such as multi-block look ahead minimize geometry errors in tight profiles by transparently regulating cutting speed. While our Position Synchronized Laser Firing Output (PSO) functionality automatically adjusts the laser pulse frequency to match the current cutting speed to maintain optimal laser power coupling.