MICRO-BORE FLOW RESTRICTORS
Glass flow restrictors are utilized in many applications where an exact flow rate is needed.
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Glass flow restrictors are used in medication infusion pumps where they assure that the patient is neither over nor under medicated. |
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Glass flow restrictors are also used to meter gases and to control the flow of saline in flush devices used in hemo-dynamic monitoring systems. |
Glass is commonly used as it is inert and does not interact with drugs as do other materials such as plastics. It is also dimensionally stable and will not change size or configuration during sterilization, storage or further processing.
Key Benefit
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Accu-Glass manufactures the tubing from molten glass with extreme control of the inner diameter (I.D.). The I.D. can be as small as 0.001 inch and we can control this to +/- 0.0001 inch. |
We then cut the tubing to a specific length which can be identified by a predetermined formula which involves the I.D. and the desired flow. There are also two ways to cut the tubing; score/break and precision wafer cutting. Score and break is the least expensive method and involves marking the outside of the glass with a score and then putting enough pressure on the glass until it breaks. If a very precise and clean cut is required, this can be accomplished with saw cutting using a diamond blade. This method is generally more expensive but yields a higher quality cut.
After cutting the glass flow restrictors can be tumbled with ceramic media to remove the sharp edges. This is preferred when the flow restrictor is inserted into a plastic housing as a sharp glass edge can skive the plastic. Accu-Glass can also 100% flow test the restrictors in automatic test equipment.
Finally, the parts are thoroughly cleaned and dried. They can be packaged in bulk with plastic-lined shippers or shrink packaged to prevent the part from movement during shipment.
PRODUCTS
