Rocketman

An Awesome Nitinol Tubing Supplier. They currently produce the tightest tolerance nitinol tubing you can find, at competitive pricing. The high concentricity of their tubing opens up all types of design capabilities during product development, as if the tubing is bad to start the problems are just amplified during Electropolishing. With Vasco Tube it's so good to start, your post EP parts are even better.

Strengths: High Tolerance Nitinol Tubing

Needs to improve: None

It would be nice to have some local competition to NDC. Unfortunately Pulse Systems isn't too formidable a competitor to NDC. When they can make your parts the quality is decent. Too often they've have not come through on their promises. They claim to have brought in Electropolishing capabilities but the quality of the electropolished parts did not match competitors. This leaves them just a laser cutter with variable delivery times and high prices.

Strengths: Lasercutting

Needs to improve: Variable Delivery

My favorite US based Stent MFG company. They have awesome customer service. They will do development work for you without NRE's. Their quality is up with the best. Pricing is super competitive. They are on the top of my list when I quote stent work.

Strengths: Laser Cutting, Electropolishing, Customer Service

Needs to improve: None

NDC is in flux. Historically they've provided components to Large Medical Device Companies. When bidding for jobs from Startups their price structure was not competitive. They've also struggled to keep up with the capabilities of their competitors. When competitors were quoting tighter tolerances with lower prices, NDC was unwilling to compete. Recently NDC has been looking to bolster their business with development work for startups. Pricing has become more competitive but they are still reluctant to provide the tighter tolerances of their competitors, insisting to sticking with their +/- 25 microns, which puts limits on what one can do from the design side.

Strengths: Stent Manufacturing

Needs to improve: Pricey

Boca Bearings carriers a large inventory of micro bearings, both steel and ceramic. It's a great resource for prototyping as their no minimum order and their website make it easy to find and order what you need. Delivery is fast. If you need assistance they have good in house expertise that can help you select the best bearings for you needs.

Strengths: Large Inventory of Micro Bearings

Needs to improve: None

Indium Solder and Fluxes will help you join difficult to join metals. Especially if you are working with Nitinol and Stainless Steels. Their customer service is good and knowledgable. They have sample kits that will allow you try a series of fluxes to determine what works for you.

Strengths: Fluxes and Solder

Needs to improve: Price

Dymax makes decent adhesives. Both UV and Cyanoacrylate. In the past I've experienced lot to lot variability, where cure time and UV power needed to be different for two different lots. Customer Service was slow to acknowledge there was an issue. Recently it appears their quality has improved.

Strengths: Adhesives

Needs to improve: Variable Quality

In the medical device industry one of the most important feature is consistency. Loctite provides that with their adhesives. It's been rare when I've seen batch to batch variation with Loctite products. Their in house expertise is top notch, and they will perform adhesive studies to help you find the best adhesive for your needs.

Strengths: Medical Grage Adhesives: Cyanoacrylate, UV and Epoxy. Customer Service

Needs to improve: None

R.S. Hughes has always been a reliable vendor. Over the years I've used them at many startups as our supplier of Loctite adhesives, Erem Tweezers and Handtools and for Adhesive Ultra fine fiberoptic sanding discs. They've also provided us with UV light sources. Its been rare when they were out of stock. Customer service is good.

Strengths: Great Inventory of adhesives and hand tools, customer service

Needs to improve: None

Popper is a great resource for metal luer fittings, stopcocks, hypodermic needles. They will also custom fabricate components to you specification. Their Glass syringes are great for the R&D environment especially when you need generate high pressures. Customer service has always been top notch.

Strengths: Fabricated Metal Components for Medical Devices

Needs to improve: None

Qosina is an R&D teams friend. Their huge variety of connectors, stopcocks, tubing, hose barbs, etc make it almost impossible not to find what you need. If they don't carry it, they can make it for you. Their product development kits are awesome. It's like Lego's for fluid connectors. Their sample policy is generous once you find what you need.

Strengths: Huge Variety of Components, Generous Sample Policy, Responsive Customer Service.

Needs to improve: None

We've used Oliver Tolas at some of the large medical device companies I've been at. Unfortunately my recent experiences trying to get them to respond to start-ups has been under whelming. I felt I was chasing them to give them my business. When they finally did respond, delivery times were twice as long as competitors and their prices were more expensive.

Strengths: Medical Device Pouches

Needs to improve: Lack of Customer Service or Hunger for New Customers

Nutek is a good E-Beam Sterilization resource in the SF Bay Area. Their 4hr, 8hr and 24hr rapid service is helpful during product development, though you will pay extra for the speed. I've also used them for routine product sterilization. Their service has been comparable to other sterilization houses. Of note high density products may require a double pass through the E-Beam.

Strengths: Rapid E-Beam Sterilization Services

Needs to improve: None

I've used E-Beam Services for both Product Sterilization and Polymer Cross-Linking. Their turn arounds are fast and customer service responsive. They have provided development services as we worked to determine the required dose to obtain the cross-linking we were looking for. For sterilization we have routinely been able to product sterilized and in inventory in under two weeks.

Strengths: Electron Beam Sterilization, Polymer Crosslinking

Needs to improve: None

Steris has been a solid vendor. They've always worked with us to facilitate our validation process. They have strong in house knowledge of EtO sterilization and have very helpful with packaging and EtO cycle design to insure our product is sterile. They have also been accommodating helping fit our sterile load in when we had an urgent need.

Strengths: EtO Sterilization, Multiple Facilities , Customer Service

Needs to improve: None

Global Metrics is one of my favorite fasteners houses. They have a great inventory of Metric Fasteners. It's rare they have not had what I needed. They have always been friendly and helpful. I've often dropped by to see if they had what I need, and they have always been welcoming though they don't have an "official" store front. It's nice that they no minimum, especially when you need that one off bolt.

Strengths: Huge Selection of Metric Fasteners, No Minimum, Great Customer Service

Needs to improve: None

Bruce and Jason do awesome work. In addition to doing some of the most incredible excavation work I've seen hanging off the side of a steep hillside, Bruce maintains one of the cleanest and most organized construction sites I've been on. Responsive and cost conscience Nor Cal will be my first choice for excavation. If Bruce tells you it will be done by a certain time, you count on it being done on time or early.

Strengths: Excavation of Difficult Sites, Foundation and Roadways

Needs to improve: None

Steve and his Team at Tru Tech Systems are awesome. The in house knowledge is second to none. Steve has developed patented improvements to centerless grinders that allow them to produce quality parts with precision and features that are hard to find with other vendors. Customer service is top notch. Delivery of nitinol core wires has alway been on or ahead of schedule.

Strengths: Hi Precision Centerless Grinding of standard and hard to grind materials.

Needs to improve: None

Advanced Extrusion is a good extrusion vendor. Depending on their load delivery times can be variable. On occasion I've experienced minor quality issues. Ziggy has been quick to resolve them. Quality has typically improved though better control of extrusion parameters such Speeds, Feeds, Temps, Screws, Tip and Dies.

Strengths: Single and Multi-Lumen Medical Grade Tubing

Needs to improve: None

For years Zeus has made great Fluropolymer Extrusions and Heat Shrink Tubing. They have become a mainstay in the medical device industry. Recently the FDA has started asking for more documentation regarding the material makeup. This is where your pains will start. Zeus's "proprietary" stance makes them unwanting to share the information a company needs to file with the FDA. It took us MONTHS to get basic resin information. Competitors provided it easily with actual documentation or their FDA Master File. Unfortunately Zeus is no longer our first choice when looking for Fluropolymers.

Strengths: Fluropolymer Tubing and Heat Shrink

Needs to improve: Lack for easily obtainable FDA documentation