Jacket Lasercut Hypotubes with Pebax Heat Shrink Tubing

By katiekarmelek
November 5, 2020

When working on designing an interventional device, I typical gravitate towards using a braided shaft (often using a reflow process with a PTFE liner and Pebax outer jacket) to build a flexible catheter. Yet, in recent years, there’s been an industry shift thanks to laser cutting technology improvements.

It’s now possible to create a thinner, higher performance medical device using a laser-cut hypotube. What’s even more exciting is that a laser-cut hypotube and a single jacket of Pebax heat shrink tubing used together help streamline the process:

  • Pebax heat shrink tubing remains on and integrates with the device, eliminating the cumbersome reflow process and reducing manufacturing yield loss. (Yes, that’s right—no reflow or risks of damaging the catheter when removing the FEP heat shrink!)
  • Unlike other heat shrink, Cobalt Polymer’s Pebax heat shrink allows the underlying hypotube to remain flexible.
  • Pebax is super thin—meaning it does not significantly add to the device profile. Typical wall thickness for a robust jacket ranges from 0.001”—0.003” (0.025 mm—0.075 mm).
  • When brought to its shrinking temperature, Pebax will thermally bond to an underlying material, whether it’s a metal or a polymer. This also eliminates delamination issues and the need for an adhesive or tie layer.

I love new technologies that continue to help me push the boundaries of innovation!

Check out Cobalt Polymer’s full blog post to learn more about using Pebax for jacketing a laser-cut hypotube.

Ready to try a laser-cut hypotube with a jacket of Pebax Heat Shrink Tubing? You can order in-stock hypotubes and heat shrink on our marketplace.