Creating a high-quality cryogenic tube isn't just about choosing the right material—it's about a meticulous manufacturing process that leaves no room for error. Here's a glimpse into how we turn raw PP resin into the tubes that protect your research:
Custom Mold Design
It all starts with mold design. Our in-house engineering team creates precision molds tailored to each tube size and style, ensuring consistent wall thickness and thread accuracy. We use 3D modeling to simulate how the PP will flow during injection molding, identifying potential weak points before production even begins. This attention to detail means every tube is uniform, with no thin spots that could fail under cryogenic conditions.
Injection Molding: Precision at Every Step
We use state-of-the-art injection molding machines to shape the PP resin into tubes and caps. The process is computer-controlled, with real-time monitoring of temperature, pressure, and cooling time—variables that directly impact the tube's strength and durability. After molding, each tube undergoes a visual inspection to check for defects like warping or flash, ensuring only perfect parts move to the next stage.
Assembly and Quality Checks
Next, the tubes and caps are assembled with silicone gaskets, which are inserted by hand to ensure proper alignment. We then test a random sample of each batch for leaks by submerging them in water and applying pressure—if even one tube fails, the entire batch is rejected. It's a strict process, but we believe it's the only way to guarantee reliability.
Sterilization: The Final Step
Once assembled, the tubes are packaged in sterile, dust-free conditions and sent for sterilization. Our EO sterilization chambers are validated to meet ISO 11135 standards, with cycle parameters carefully controlled to ensure complete sterilization without damaging the PP or gaskets. Gamma-sterilized tubes undergo a similar validation process, with dosimeters confirming the correct radiation level is applied. After sterilization, each package is labeled with a lot number and expiration date, so you can trace every tube back to its production batch.