Carl Stahl Sava Industries Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

A Case for Tungsten Cable: Motion Control in Surgical Robots

.019 Ø, 19×19 with plasma welded ends.

Among the most common tungsten cable constructions used in surgical robotics include 8×19, 7×37, and a 19×19 configuration. 8×19 tungsten mechanical cable comprises 201 tungsten filaments, while 7×37 includes 259, and lastly, 19×19 possesses 361 helically stranded wires. And although stainless steel serves a number of applications, including numerous medical and surgical devices, there is no substitute for tungsten cable in surgical robotics applications.

But why is stainless steel, such a celebrated mechanical cable material, less and less popular in actuating motion in surgical robots? After all, stainless steel cable, particularly in miniature diameters, is used ubiquitously across military, aerospace and most importantly to the topic, countless other surgical device applications.

Well, the reason tungsten cable is supplanti…

Tungsten cable for surgical robotics: A complex material serving a complex application

These 0.001in. tungsten wire filaments are used to manufacture tungsten mechanical cable. [Photo courtesy Carl Stahl Sava Industries]

Tungsten mechanical cables are the most popular for surgical robot makers.

The mechanical cables that reside within the motion control systems of the most modern surgical robots can be so small that the individual filaments themselves are nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.

So tiny are the wires comprising tungsten cables for surgical robotics that they contain individual strand diameters as small as one-fourth the thickness of a single piece of paper.

When a surgical robotics designer comes to a cable manufacturer with a tungsten cable application, there is a specific set of criteria that the cable must satisfy. The cable must tolerate a precise load, for example, while maintaining a miniature diameter, as well as a critical factor of safety. After all, a tun…

Carl Stahl Sava Industries wins New Jersey Manufacturer of the Year award

Carl Stahl Sava Industries at NJMEP 2021 [Photo courtesy of Carl Stahl Sava Industries]

Cable manufacturer Carl Stahl Sava Industries has won a Manufacturer of the Year award from the New Jersey Manufacturer’s Extension Program (NJMEP).

The “Manufacturing Cares” category award recognizes New Jersey manufacturers for their commitment to industry leadership, innovation, growth through revenue and the growth and development of employees and communities in the areas of operations and continuous improvements, management philosophy, workforce development and supply chain development. The award is named after the NJMEP Manufacturing Cares philanthropic program,

Headquartered in Riverdale, New Jersey, Sava is a manufacturer of custom, miniature and ultrafine tungsten, stainless steel and other mechanical cables, assemblies and components for the wearable and surgical robotics markets, as well industr…

How Carl Stahl Sava Industries helped create more affordable prosthetics

[Image courtesy of Unlimited Tomorrow]

Carl Stahl Sava Industries (Riverdale, N.J.) provided stainless steel mechanical cable assemblies to enable Unlimited Tomorrow‘s TrueLimb, an autonomous prosthetic arm that retails for only a few thousand dollars.

Here’s how Carl Stahl Sava Industries described its contribution to Unlimited Tomorrow (Rhinebeck, N.Y.):

“The mechanical cables that facilitate TrueLimb’s movement comprise 7×49, stainless steel wire rope, that is .032 in. in diameter and coated with nylon to a diameter of .037 in. The motion control systems in TrueLimb afford the prosthetic limb years of tremendous flexibility and continuous operation. The combination of the cable’s 100 lbs. tensile strength, extensive cycle counts and broad bending radii, means TrueLimb can live an extensive, uninterrupted life, ensuring wearers unlimited use for decades.”

Said Unlimi…