Machining to MIM for Precision & Cost Savings

Advancing Spinal Surgery Through Smarter Manufacturing

Spinal procedures are inherently complex, requiring precise placement of surgical instruments and exceptional dexterity. Even when complications are avoided, traditional methods often demand forceful manipulation, leading to longer and more painful recovery periods for patients.

Spine Wave, Inc., a Connecticut-based medical device company founded in 2001, is addressing these challenges by developing innovative surgical solutions specifically designed for spinal treatments.

Engineering Innovation: The Velocity® Expandable Interbody Device

Among Spine Wave's standout innovations is the Velocity® Expandable Interbody Device, which utilizes groundbreaking expandable implant technology. The device features a small spacer inserted into the spine that expands once in place, allowing for improved stability and alignment.

Velocity® is deployed using a handheld gun loaded with a cartridge containing the implant. Surgeons activate the trigger to insert the contents into the surgical site and can load multiple cartridges per procedure — seamlessly completing several implant expansions within a single surgery.

However, as Manufacturing Engineer Zachary Sniffen and Senior Quality Engineer John Kapp emphasize, every step leading up to implantation must be equally precise to ensure the success of the procedure.

Solving Shipping and Assembly Challenges

While Spine Wave is known for innovation in spinal technologies, getting their next-generation instruments safely and efficiently into surgeons' hands was a costly logistical challenge. Components required extra care during shipping to avoid misalignment or damage before surgery.

To overcome this, Spine Wave's engineers turned to OptiMIM for a more cost-effective, reliable solution, one that would ensure smooth delivery right out of the box.

Preparing the Velocity® device for surgery involves removing cartridges from sterile packaging and snapping them onto the delivery gun. As Sniffen explains, "Surgeons could have trouble mating the gun to the cartridge if components inside became misaligned during shipping."

To solve this, Spine Wave developed a shipping lock, a compact, clip-like piece that holds components securely in place during transport. When the cartridge is loaded onto the gun, the mechanism automatically disengages, allowing for smooth, uninterrupted assembly in the operating room.

Transitioning from Machined Parts to MIM Components

Initially, the shipping locks were machined from raw bar stock, a process that delivered precision but at a high cost. "We had to change processes, and we knew metal injection molding would give us a cost reduction," says Kapp. That's when the team contacted OptiMIM.

"Complex geometries and intricately shaped features make medical devices a great fit for the MIM process," explains OptiMIM. "Spine Wave could have spent six to seven times more machining this part than producing it through MIM."

OptiMIM collaborated closely with Spine Wave's engineers to optimize manufacturability, achieve tighter tolerances, and deliver consistent quality at scale. "We saw the best opportunity for a quality part from OptiMIM — and their willingness to work with us on our design intent," Sniffen says.

Ultimately, the switch to MIM not only reduced costs but also opened the door to greater production efficiency and scalability. In fact, Spine Wave later extended the shipping lock's application to a second product. "It paid for itself fairly quickly," says Sniffen. "It was pretty much a no-brainer for us."

The OptiMIM Partnership: Experience, Expertise, and Collaboration

Transitioning to MIM presented unique engineering challenges. "With projecting features like the shipping lock posts, the injection molding process always presents challenges with cooling, flexing, and bowing," says Kapp.

To address this, Spine Wave partnered with OptiMIM's experts through a Design for Manufacturing (DFM) approach, optimizing the part for MIM production and working hands-on at OptiMIM's Portland, Oregon facility.

During development, Spine Wave's engineers discovered (or rediscovered) OptiMIM's century-long legacy of in-house MIM expertise. Kapp recalls working with the company years earlier under its original name, Kinetics: "They've done some very technically challenging work. It was the right choice for this project."

The collaboration delivered measurable success:

• Target dates met
• Significant cost reduction
• Seamless transition from the machined part to MIM

"For a quality engineer, having nothing to report is a resounding endorsement," Kapp says.

A Trusted Partner in Precision Manufacturing

"The engineers at OptiMIM had the foresight to see a potential issue on a susceptible part that didn't appear during development," Kapp adds. "Because of their expertise, we were able to circumvent the issue and avoid any inventory delays."

By combining deep MIM experience, collaborative engineering, and design optimization, OptiMIM helped Spine Wave achieve cost-effective, high-performance results — proving how transitioning from machining to MIM can enhance precision, reduce cost, and improve manufacturability across the medical device industry.