Can We Add IPA to the Duraglide Fluid?

Do not add IPA alcohol to Duraglide to “top off” the tank of bath. If add IPA to the formula it will not be “in-spec.” There is no IPA in the carrier fluid formulation, so adding IPA to the Duraglide will by definition put it out of sec. It also would impact the quality of the coating (compared to the straight XC carrier, because IPA has a different specific gravity than XC and the PTFE) and create flammability issues. Customers should add plain XF or XC to “top off” the Duraglide coating. Adding plain, pure carrier would be the only way they could add carrier to their existing bath and be able to bring the formula back to original specifications. The only limitation to this process is the purity of the bath. Dipping parts can result in the addition of water and/or contamination to the bath. This will change the specific gravity of the dipping fluid. That’s why we always recommend the parts be perfectly clean and dry BEFORE dipping and coating.

How Do Dry Lubricants Improve Medical Device Assembly?

In a perfect world, every component would be manufactured exactly to specification. But perfection drives costs higher so it makes sense to accommodate variations — tolerances —as long as they do not compromise the finished assembly. But there is a catch. If a device features four or five nested components, the components may be at the “worst case” limits of their design. Tight-fitting parts make assembly difficult and slow, and excessive friction and sticking, often called “stiction” can degrade the operation of the finished device. These accumulated “stacked tolerances” can be very difficult to resolve in manufacturing. A cost-effective way to address stacked tolerances is to use a dry lubricant based on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) like Duraglide™ . PTFE is a powder and is mixed into a carrier fluid. The mixture is applied by dipping the parts into a liquid bath. The carrier fluid then evaporates away leaving a smooth, dry PTFE coating on the part. Dry lubricants such as Duraglide™ are versatile. They are compatible with most plastics and metals. Plus, they conform to virtually any surface and readily penetrate into complex shapes and blind vias. Duraglide™ is safe, clean, non-migrating and is ISO 10993 certified. A brief heat-treating process can turn the coating into a hard, durable and attractive finish. But most importantly, dry lubricants improve the performance of a finished device. They can instantly reduce the coefficient of friction on a treated part to as low as 0.06. This translates into a 25-30% reduction in actuation forces, greatly improving performance. Many medical devices would not be commercially viable without a dry lubricant. For additional information about dry lubricants in general and Duraglide™ lubricant in particular, contact your MicroCare representative .

Duraglide Dry Lubricant

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Product Information

Duraglide Dry Lubricant reduces friction for better performing medical devices

Applications:

Use on disposible medical devices like catheters, cutting tools, staplers and hypo tubes
Ideal for any “surface to surface” surgical devices that slide, pivot, rock or twist
Apply to production fixtures to speed the assembly of plastic and metal components
Dip, brush or spray onto medical devices

Features:

Duraglide Dry Lubricant is a milky-white, medical-grade, dry lubricant using PTFE lubricants
Reduces surface-to-surface friction to levels
Provides surgical devices with smoother, more consistent actuation and reduced 'stiction'
Ultra-small PTFE particles produce less friction
Particle size varies between 1-15 microns with an average of 3.7 microns
Pre-mixed and packaged using factory-precise, calibrated concentrations
Medical grade, ISO 10993 tested and certified
Packaged ready-to-use with no labor-wasting mixing or inconsistencies
Nonflammable carrier fluids for easy shipping, storage and handling
2% solution concentration using the 'XF' carrier
Outstanding particle 'hang-time' with minimal agitation delivers smoother coatings
Calibrated PTFE content for consistent coating results and easy validation
Simple equipment requirements for high-volume production
The fluid is inimical to pyrogens, minimizing bioburden issues
Compatible with ETO, ultrasonic and radiation sterilization processes
Non-migrating lubricant
Excellent materials compatibility
Fast drying carrier fluid with minimal solvent odor

Note: The Duraglide fluids come in other concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 10%. Custom formulations also are available. Please contact us to discuss your specific needs.

Here are the operating instructions for Duraglide Dry Lubricant.
Compartive Insight - Duraglide™ HI and Duraglide™ XF

Product Details

Part Number	Package	Weight	Size	Technical Data Sheet	Safety Data Sheet
XF020L 2% MCC-XF020L 2%	Liter (Sample Package)	1.13 kg 2.5 lbs.	1 L 1 Quart	TDS USA (ENGLISH) (opens in a new tab) Spanish (opens in a new tab)	SDS Lookup (opens in a new tab)
XF020G 2% MCC-XF020G 2%	Metal Pail	4.5 kg 10 lbs.	3.8 L 1 Gallon	TDS USA (ENGLISH) (opens in a new tab) Spanish (opens in a new tab)	SDS Lookup (opens in a new tab)
XF020P 2% MCC-XF020P 2%	Metal Pail	22.7 kg 50 lbs.	19 L 5 Gallons	TDS USA (ENGLISH) (opens in a new tab) Spanish (opens in a new tab)	SDS Lookup (opens in a new tab)
XF020D 2% MCC-XF020D 2%	Drum	227 kg 500 lbs.	227 L 55 Gallons	TDS USA (ENGLISH) (opens in a new tab) Spanish (opens in a new tab)	SDS Lookup (opens in a new tab)

Part Number	MCC-XF020L 2%	MCC-XF020G 2%	MCC-XF020P 2%	MCC-XF020D 2%
Package	Liter (Sample Package)	Metal Pail	Metal Pail	Drum
Weight	1.13 kg 2.5 lbs.	4.5 kg 10 lbs.	22.7 kg 50 lbs.	227 kg 500 lbs.
Size	1 L 1 Quart	3.8 L 1 Gallon	19 L 5 Gallons	227 L 55 Gallons
Technical Data Sheet	TDS	TDS	TDS	TDS
Safety Data Sheet	SDS	SDS	SDS	SDS

Appearance	Milky-white liquid
Odor	Slight Ethanol
PEL (ppm, 8-hr TWA)	>200 ppm; See SDS Sheet
Boiling Point	45˚C / 113˚F
Chemical Family	HFC
Evaporation Rate	Fast
Cleaning Strength (Kb)	N/A
Active Ingredients	HFC and PTFE emulsion
Flashpoint	None / Nonflammable
VOC Organic Content (g/L)	Zero
Ozone Impact	Zero, Ozone-safe
RoHS & WEEE Compliant
Safety Rating	NA

Product Information

Applications:

Features:

Product Details

Safety Data Sheet

BULK

Technical Data Sheet