Metal Forming & Finishing
Relucent’s metal forming capabilities support the creation of complex, high-performance medical components where geometry, consistency, and material behavior are critical. Our forming processes are designed specifically for medical device applications, enabling precise control of shape, force, and mechanical response across a range of alloys.
Relucent is your partner for laser processing, on-time and in-budget.
Relucent’s engineering and manufacturing facility, located in Santa Rosa, CA, is vertically integrated to provide the technology resources for rapid product development and mid-volume manufacturing.
A Track Record Of Success
Relucent has nearly two full decades of experience, founded with the objective of building a responsive company, empathetic to the incredible challenges of developing medical device components.
ISO 13485
Certification
With our vast experience in a wide range of alloys, designs, and processes we can help determine the best solutions for your product and design specifications.
Vast In-House
Capabilities
Relucent’s laser processing facility, located in Santa Rosa, CA, is vertically integrated to provide the technology resources for rapid product development and mid-volume manufacturing.
Rapid Prototyping
Relucent’s rapid prototyping capability supports early-stage development by enabling fast, accurate creation of precision medical components and supporting tooling. Using in-house multi-axis machining, Relucent helps customers quickly evaluate design concepts, test functionality, and identify manufacturability considerations early in the development cycle.
Rapid prototyping is commonly used for proof-of-concept components, design iterations, custom fixtures, mandrels, and development tooling required to support laser cutting, wire forming, and shape setting processes.
Why it matters:
Rapid prototyping shortens development timelines by enabling quick design iteration and early risk reduction. Keeping prototyping in-house allows Relucent to provide immediate engineering feedback, accelerate design refinement, and ensure a smoother transition from prototype to production.
Shape Setting
Shape setting defines how shape-memory and super-elastic materials behave in real-world use. Relucent’s shape-setting process precisely controls time, temperature, and fixturing to lock in desired geometries and performance characteristics.
We shape-set:
- Laser-cut stents
- Wire-formed components
- Complex non-cylindrical geometries
In addition to geometry, we tune material properties such as Austenite Finish (AF) temperature to meet specific functional requirements.
Why it matters:
Shape setting directly influences deployment forces, radial strength, and long-term performance. Our expertise ensures devices behave as intended.
Abrasive Blasting
Abrasive blasting is used to prepare component surfaces for downstream processing such as electro polishing, coating, or bonding.
Relucent controls media selection, pressure, and exposure to achieve consistent surface conditioning without dimensional loss or material damage.
Applications include:
- Deburring and edge refinement
- Oxide and scale removal
- Surface preparation for adhesion or coating
Why it matters:
Surface preparation directly affects the success of finishing, bonding, and coating processes. Controlled blasting improves consistency and reduces downstream variability.
Electro Polishing
Relucent’s electro polishing process improves surface finish, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility across a wide range of medical alloys.
Using proprietary chemistries and tightly controlled process parameters, electro polishing removes surface irregularities, micro-burrs, and laser recast layers while enhancing material performance.
Materials include:
- Nitinol
- Stainless steel
- Cobalt chromium
- Titanium
- MP35N
- Magnesium alloys
Why it matters:
Surface finish plays a critical role in fatigue resistance, thrombogenicity, and corrosion behavior. Electro polishing is often a make-or-break step for implantable devices, and our process is optimized for medical use.
Chemical Etching
Chemical etching selectively removes material to refine features, remove surface oxides, or adjust wall thickness in precision components.
This process is particularly valuable for:
- Fine feature refinement after laser cutting
- Oxide removal from Nitinol
- Improving surface uniformity prior to electro polishing
Why it matters:
Chemical etching allows for precise material control without mechanical stress, supporting tighter tolerances and improved surface integrity.
Wire Crimping
Relucent offers precision wire crimping and mechanical joining for complex wire assemblies.
We support:
- Butt joints
- Side-by-side joins
- Multi-wire (3-way) configurations
These joints are designed for strength, consistency, and repeatability.
Why it matters:
Secure, reliable joining is critical for device integrity and performance. Our controlled joining processes reduce failure risk and improve assembly consistency.
Wire Forming
Our process combines custom mandrel design, controlled forming techniques, and material-specific handling to achieve consistent shapes with predictable mechanical behavior. This capability supports both simple and highly complex wire constructs.
Typical applications include:
- Wire-based stents
- Guidewire components
- Structural reinforcement elements
Why it matters:
Accurate wire forming is essential for maintaining consistent force, flexibility, and shape recovery. Our process control reduces variability early in development and supports smooth transition into production.
Honing
Honing is a precision finishing process that refines and perfects the internal geometry and surface quality of components after primary machining. By using controlled abrasive action to remove microscopic amounts of material, honing achieves exceptionally Honing refines critical internal features to achieve smooth surface finishes and precise dimensional control in medical device components. This process enhances fit, motion, and sealing performance in tight-tolerance bores, supporting consistent functionality, reliability, and long-term performance in demanding clinical applications.