Crucible Design Nurtures Successful Collaborations at Milton Park
Milton Park in Oxfordshire, where Crucible has been based since 2012, was established as a hub for networking, partnerships and collaboration, and that’s certainly proved to be the case. We are delighted to have forged close partnerships with two of the Park’s most established biotech companies, Isansys Lifecare and Orthox – partnerships that have been flourishing now for more than three and seven years respectively.
Our design expertise and experience within the biotech and medical sector has proved invaluable to both companies, who first sought our assistance in their initial design and development phases. Both companies continue to capitalise on our expertise as they progress through their trial phases and we are delighted to have been so heavily involved in their ground breaking medical innovations.
“We have a log established history of working with biotech and medical companies, so Milton Park seemed like a very good fit for us, and it has certainly proved to be a worthwhile move. Whilst we continue to work with a range of clients across various different sectors outside of the Park, our relationships with Isansys and Orthox, have proved not only fruitful, but extremely interesting,” said Mike, Ayre, Crucibles’ MD.
Our involvement with Orthox’s medical implants stemmed from initial discussions during the early technical experiments back in 2010. This led to the discovery of alternative ways to create the implants, as well as new production methods, which not only save time, but increase accuracy.
Nick Skaer, CEO of Orthox commented,
“Crucible’s design, engineering and manufacturing expertise has proved invaluable in helping Orthox to realise our product and manufacturing ambitions. Not only has Crucible provided innovative solutions to several complex engineering challenges, they have also become an essential supply chain resource, advising us on manufacturing techniques and introducing us to essential parts suppliers and manufacturers.”
For Isansys, it was our problem solving capabilities that proved most useful. The biotech company, has created the Patient Status Engine, a wireless patient monitoring platform that collects and analyses patient’s vital signs and other relevant data. This information is displayed on a tablet computer. Isansys’s challenge was how to manufacture small numbers of well designed, technically sound parts for the tablet’s casing, without paying the high cost of conventional tooling.
We explored various ways of producing the parts before eventually settling on making them from silicone rubber tooling – which is inexpensive and can be modified quickly and easily. Angela Gallego, Head of Product Development at Isansys, comments,
“Our fantastic relationship with Crucible has enabled us to increase sales whilst at the same time reduce our costs. Crucible has helped Isansys come up with a solution to meet our volume requirements and, as a result, we have been able to capitalise on their experience, expertise and network of suppliers/connections, to help further develop our first-class Patient Status Monitoring platform.”
We continue to work with Isansys on the design and development of other components and systems that make up the Patient Status Engine. Finding the right production process for each part, to achieve high quality products at low volumes, remains the main challenge. This involves a range of technologies, from the latest 3D printed materials to new developments in adhesives and plastic moulding.
“We thrive on new challenges and both of these projects have kept us on our toes. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the teams at Orthox and Isansys and it has been a privilege to have been so closely involved in such ground breaking medical innovations,” said Mike Ayre.