BEYOND SURFACES

Rising to the challenge Juan Medrano and his colleagues from the Oerlikon Metco Coating Solution Center (CSC) in Westbury provide consulting and services to cus- tomers relating to materials, coatings, equipment and applications — and how these parameters need to be linked to achieve optimal coating results. For this reason, Juan and this customer in the medical device businesshave often teamed up on particularly critical projects. Because the company produces implants for the human body, the necessary requirements and approv- als are regulated in the USA by the FDA 1 . Not only is the implant manufacturing system prescribed in detail, the coating used on the implant is, as well. To say the least, these requirements are quite rigorous. Well, under normal circumstances. not normal — and a bit scary When the call from the customer reaches him, however, it is by no means “normal circum- stances”: Juan is working in his home office like so many others; the world is in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis; and the USA has gone in lockdown. This also means that if the request for a customized implant comes now, the operation is vital and time is of the essence — a patient’s life is on the line and all must act quickly to save him. For such an urgent surgery, the company was able to quickly build a custom-made pelvic implant. As the implant has to be coated, Juan is called upon to assist in custom programming of the robot and the Oerlikon Metco MultiCoat™ system. This implant is unique, the geometry complex and there is only one shot at getting the coating right. Juan recalls: “It was a bit scary! For one thing, all the protective measures at the customer’s premises. As the customer is in the medical field, of course, these were even more rigorous than anywhere else. And then the employee who operated the machine and I were almost the only people in a building where otherwise more than 1,500 people work!” The weight of four elephants But this job Juan will never forget for a different reason: “My biggest worry was that I had to travel from my home in Long Island, New York to the customers’ site — across the state border that had been closed due to the Covid-19 measures! Of course, I had taken all the necessary protective measures, had all the necessary papers and accompanying letters with me, both from the customer and from our management — but my only thought was: If I am stopped and sent back now, the operation, which is vital for the patient, cannot be performed!” In the end, everything went well — Juan and the operator at the customer were able to complete the job unhindered and as specified, and the implant was coated and sent to the surgeon within a few hours. “The weight of at least four elephants fell off my heart when the job was done! I hope ‘my’ patient will soon be well again.” Juan Medrano is still relieved in his review. In his 25 years with Oerlikon Metco, Juan Medrano, team leader Thermal Spray in Westbury, has performed many service assignments at customer sites. However, he will probably not forget this visit any time soon: despite massive limitations in the course of the Corona lockdown, he was called in to provide urgent support in the coating of a pelvic implant. 1 US Food and Drug Administration 21