| French metallurgical company AMF manufactures products based upon NiTi alloys, known as shape memory alloys, and primarily offers osteosynthesis staples and other shape memory parts for medical applications. The company, whose supply chain operates via medical distributors and not direct to hospitals, has facilities based in Reuilly that include NiTi alloy production, vacuum-melting by induction, controlled solidification, and cold/hot forming. This is in addition to cold and hot wire drawing, cold and hot rolling, and finishing lines for heat treatment and polishing.
Due to the unique customer confidentiality of each individual case, the company does not attempt to foster new application ideas, and therefore do not apply for patents, although AMF can assist in new product development. The procurement of shape memory alloys in the form of semi-finished products, such as wire or staple, remains a delicate operation and the lead-time may be considerable, a problem the company combats with a fully integrated assembly line. When set at the ambient temperature, NiTi shape memory alloys show a phase transformation that generates a mechanical reaction. The staple changes from the open form to the closed form by warming up around 10�C, while the transformation temperature is activated between 20� and 50�C.
The osteosynthesis staple is a delicate product with small dimensional tolerances and precision shape recovery. Based on average results from the performance of cold or hot clips, the company has established a standard centre distance tolerance of �0.3 mm and a transformation finish temperature of �3�C.
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