Custom Profile Extrusions

What is a profile extrusion?

Profile extrusions are tubes that are not circular in shape, or that have lumens that are not circular. A D-shaped tube, for example, might be needed to meet a flexibility or strength requirement, to nest beside another component, or to connect to a medical device. MicroSpec extrudes some of the most complex and unorthodox profiles in the industry, from D-shaped tubes to heart-shaped lumens. Every custom profile extrusion we run starts from your print, so custom extruded profiles fit your device instead of a catalog shape.

Profile tubing is closely related to multi-lumen tubing; the two use the same extrusion technologies. With advances in surgical robotics, both are seeing significant growth.

Shapes we extrude

• D-shaped and oval tubes
• Crescent and kidney shapes
• Heart-shaped and other non-round lumens
• Lobed and notched profiles for nesting or keying
• Ribbon extrusions
• Over extrusions on wire or other components
• Profiles combined with multiple lumens or co-extruded layers

Why profiles are harder than round tubes

A round tube cools evenly. A profile does not. Thick and thin sections cool and shrink at different rates, so the shape that leaves the die is not the shape that ends up on the cutter. The die has to be designed to compensate for how each material will draw down and relax, and the process has to stay steady to hold the shape.

Tooling is where most of this work happens. Our proprietary dies are cut in our own machine shop so we can refine them quickly. Tooling expertise is customarily guarded as a trade secret in this industry, and ours is no exception.

Specifying a profile

Profiles are where over-specifying most often causes trouble. Give us the features that matter for function, with realistic tolerances, and tell us how the part will be inspected. A profile that is easy to measure is easier to validate. If you are unsure, send a concept drawing and we will suggest where a little flexibility in the design will save time.