As the market for minimally invasive procedures developed rapidly, there was an increase in the demand for high-precision, high-performance catheter fabrication technology. Sheath and dilator tubes are essential intervention devices for procedures, in which catheters are used and require precise dimensional accuracy, and uniform roundness and surface roughness. Polyethylene is used in sheath and dilator limitation for processability, which causes low melt flow index and side effects. Therefore, in the extrusion process using polyethylene, it is important to study the manufacturing of tubes with improved roundness and surface roughness. In this study, we proposed a calibrator for precise production with an aim to manufacture 5Fr micro-puncture tubes, and studied the changes in the roundness and surface roughness of tubes by changing the cooling water temperature and water disk thickness. As a result, it was found that the cooling water temperature and wafer disk thickness had an effect on the roundness and surface roughness, and the roundness had an effect on the formation of the wall thickness. Therefore, these experimental results were used as a study for the production of improved Sheath and Dilator tubes.

The multi-lumen catheter with complex and small cross section is widely used for interventional radiology and minimally invasive surgery. It is manufactured in the polymer extrusion process with many manufacturing parameters. The profile of the extrudate is difficult to predict because it depends on the die shape and many parameters. In this paper, the effects of the manufacturing parameters for multi-lumen catheter extrusion are studied. The commercial software ANSYS Polyflow is used to simulate the polymer flow and predict the profile of the extrudate. The optimized die shape is used to achieve the target profile of the extrudate. The extrudate profiles are investigated with respect to the puller speeds at the end of the extrudate and blowing air pressure of each lumen. Circularity and major diameter are compared for the different manufacturing parameters. The effects of the manufacturing parameters on the profile of the extrudate are examined. The target profile of the extrudate is obtained with optimized manufacturing parameters.