Surgical instruments require approved high-performance BÖHLER steels with excellent corrosion resistance, strength, and edge retention. Key quality features include ultra-clean materials, full traceability, controlled heat treatment, and rigorous testing for safe, reliable use.
Surgical applications in medical technology require approved materials that meet the highest standards of precision, reliability, and biocompatibility. Instruments such as scalpels, forceps, scissors, and minimally invasive tools are exposed to repeated mechanical loading, sterilization cycles, and aggressive disinfectants. Material requirements therefore focus on high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and the ability to maintain sharp edges and dimensional stability over extended use. In addition, superior surface quality and cleanability are essential to meet strict hygiene and sterilization standards.
BÖHLER high-performance steels and alloys are specifically engineered and approved to fulfill these demanding surgical requirements. Advanced martensitic and precipitation-hardened stainless steels offer an optimized balance of hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance, ensuring durability and consistent performance. Produced using advanced melting and remelting technologies, BÖHLER materials provide exceptional purity, low inclusion content, and homogeneous microstructures, which are critical for reliability and long service life. Key quality features include tight control of chemical composition, certified traceability, and validated heat treatment processes to achieve precise mechanical properties. Comprehensive testing, including corrosion resistance, edge retention, and surface integrity verification, ensures compliance with medical standards. BÖHLER materials enable safe, durable, and high-precision surgical solutions.
BÖHLER N700 is a martensitic, corrosion-resistant, precipitation-hardenable chromium-nickel-copper steel with high strength and toughness. Further increases in strength can be achieved by cold forming and subsequent precipitation hardening. These products are typically used for parts that require higher corrosion resistance than the usual 13% or 17% chromium steels and high strength. Various remelting processes are used to improve steel purity and homogeneity. (ESR, PESR, VAR). Certain processing methods and operating conditions can make these products susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. For applications such as bolting where stress corrosion cracking is possible, the product should be aged for at least 4 hours at the highest temperature compatible with the strength requirements, but in no case lower than 552 °C. Typical engineering applications include surgical and dental instruments as well as aerospace components, reactor construction, highly stressed pump parts, springs and ship shafts.
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