FAQs
Our answers to your questions
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Instrumentation
Find a selection of the answers to the most frequently asked questions for instrumentation.
- What are the development services for instruments that STRATEC provides?
With a development organization of more than 700 engineers STRATEC covers all instrument-related development disciplines, such as architecture conception, mechanical design, electronics, embedded- and business logic software, cybersecurity, system integration, reliability engineering, verification and documentation.
- Does STRATEC develop from scratch?
Yes, STRATEC has a vast technology pool of reliability-proven instrument components. These can be used for instrument development, where suited. However, many customer applications and requirements need the development of specifically tailored instrument components. STRATEC has the knowledge and experts to transfer customer requirements into specifications and finally a application-fitting design.
- How are technical development risks mitigated?
By undertaking technical risk assessments of preferred proposals, STRATEC performs suitable feasibility studies to ensure that implementation of the subsequent development project involves minimum risks. During product development, we carry out feasibility tests and reliability programs.
- Does STRATEC sell individual modules for customer instruments?
Yes, in addition to developing and supplying complete systems, STRATEC also markets its own core technologies as stand-alone modules. Companies, which develop and manufacture their own instrumentation, therefore also have the opportunity to benefit from STRATEC's decades of expertise.
- Does STRATEC take over manufacturing from existing products?
Yes, STRATEC can take on projects at various stages of the lifecycle. Whether you are stuck in the design phase, before validation or you are looking for a partner for the next generation of your instrument, STRATEC coordinates all lifecycle management activities as with in-house instrumentation.
- Can STRATEC help to ensure that the instrument is easy to use?
Yes, STRATEC’s comprehensive product development also includes usability aspects to ensure that the instrument meets the work processes of laboratories and end users. We take care of usability requirements based on most recent regulations.
- Will STRATEC integrate existing customer modules into the instrument architecture?
Yes, there are many partners of STRATEC, who developed their own e.g. detection technology and would like to integrate an existing or new design into an overall automation. With STRATECs Interface Board, modules are easily integrated into STRATECs CAN bus and instrument control software.
- How do I get started?
Thank you for your interest in partnering with STRATEC. Getting started with us is a straightforward process, and we will support you at every step. Just touch base with us and we are happy to engage in a first conversation to be able to understand your needs and go forward from there.
Contact us: business-development[at]stratec.com
Consumables
Here you will find a summary of selected questions that you might have about our Consumables offerings.
- What plastics do you use for molding?
We prefer COP or COC, but also other materials are possible like PP, PC, PMMA. The advantage of COC and COP is the fact, that these materials have been proven to provide a high accuracy in molding and to lead to a high reproducibility of microfluidic or nanostructured parts. Additionally these materials are known for their low protein adsorption despite of their hydrophobic chemical structure.
- What are the advantages/disadvantages of micro-milling vs. photolithography?
Photolithography enables us to create smooth surfaces with very low roughness and small structures down to few µm. With our special process we can provide three height levels on one chip as well as a different side wall angle for each level. The side wall angle can be adapted between 1° and approx. 15°, preferably we like to work with 3°-5°. With photolithography we can realize aspect ratios as high as 10:1, e.g. pillars with a height of 60 µm and a width of 6 µm at the top.
In case your design needs more height levels, we can use micro-milling. Micro-milling has the advantage of giving us flexibility on structure depths, but is restricted in resolution, roughness, side wall angles and edge-radius of channels. In case you need very small structures in nm regime, other mastering technologies are required like e-beam writing. In this case we will realize your project together with our partners.
- How can we set up a prototyping phase without investment costs?
In order to minimize costs for the first molding tests we propose to use existing base molds at STRATEC with appropriate inserts. This base mold is e.g. a 120mm disc mold and the effective usable area on the disc starts at a diameter of 38mm and ends at a diameter of 116mm. You can create your structures/design within this area and we can dice the format you like to have. Further we also have standard molds for microscope slides and few other specialized formats.
- What would be the thinkness of the device your process could support? What is the minimum thickness you can achieve?
Typical molding thicknesses are between 0.6-1.2 mm. We typically add larger interfaces or reservoirs as a 3rd non-critical layer to enable higher flexibility. If heat transfer is critical e.g. for thermo-cycling, a thin foil can be used (e.g.~ 100µm, unstructured).
- What is solvent bonding and which flatness can be achieved?
It has been proven for a lot of our products that a solvent vapor assisted thermal bonding process leads to high precision bonding and to a very good seal of microchannels, flow cells or other structures. The solvent supported bonding enables us to achieve a stronger and more accurate bond already at lower temperatures, which avoids deformation of the microstructures, loss in structure height and usually minimizes bending of the parts. Our bonded products typically have a flatness of around 100-200µm flatness over the full length of the part (e.g. 75mm) or around 3-6µm/mm (maximum). Such parts can be easily clamped down in the instrument to enable a better flatness and heat transfer.
- Which coating processes do you have for functional surfaces, e.g. aminosilane?
We usually use CVD processes for coating of SiO2 –coated surfaces with aminosilanes to achieve a monolayer. Liquid coating is also possible, but we try to avoid this because the aminosilane tends to crosslink and polymerize on the surface. Therefore the coating becomes thicker and less uniform. In the CVD process we can tune the parameters in a way that larger agglomerates do not go into vapor phase.
Natech
We are sure you might have questions about our subsidiary Natech and its offerings. Below you will find a list of the most frequently asked questions.
- What kind of support does Natech offer throughout the product development process?
Natech assigns a dedicated project engineer to each client. This engineer works closely with your team, providing guidance, managing schedules, and communicating any risks or changes. Our project management approach ensures that your project stays on time and within budget.
- What is Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DFMA)?
Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DFMA) is a process where Natech engineers design products with the entire production and assembly process in mind. By considering factors such as part functionality, materials, and the end-use application, we ensure that your product transitions smoothly from concept to mass production.
- What types of modls does Natech manufacture?
Natech manufactures a variety of molds, including R&D molds and production molds. Our capabilities include steel insert configurations, mold sampling, first article inspection, and creating molds that can last over 1,000,000 cycles.
- Can Natech modify or repair existing molds?
Yes, our moldmakers are skilled in mold maintenance and repairs. We use techniques such as core and cavity block replacement, polish inserts, venting inserts, and shutoff inserts to extend the life of your mold and maintain optimal performance.
- What capabilities does Natech Plastics offer for custom injection molding?
Natech’s capabilities include over 45,000 square feet of manufacturing space, 60 to 400 ton injection molding machines, ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 certifications, R&D molding, insert and over molding, scientific molding processes, and a Class 8 cleanroom for medical and diagnostic applications.
- How does Natech help with material selection?
With thousands of materials and combinations available, Natech assists clients in choosing the right material or material blend for their product. The selection impacts everything from part appearance and quality to functionality. We ensure the material fits the application’s requirements.
- What services does Natech offer under contract manufacturing?
Natech offers a wide range of services, including product development, injection molding, part decorating, automation, product assembly, and filling and sealing. These services are designed to streamline the process and deliver high-quality finished devices efficiently.
- How does Natech handle the assembly of complex products?
Natech’s engineering team customizes the assembly process to meet your product’s specific needs. We offer semi- and fully-automated assembly, ultrasonic welding, heat staking, pinning, gluing, custom packaging, kitting, and mechanical assembly to ensure an efficient, scalable process.
