Suron supplies tooling to HIV exams project

A customer of Israel-based die manufacturer Suron, Ad-mek Pneumation, has been appointed to engineer and build a machine for converting extremely sensitive biological material which is used to give immediate diagnosis for HIV presence. 

The final product is a card including ten individual exams for immediate diagnosis of HIV. The biological material is laminated with an aluminum layer at the bottom and a thick protecting film on top. 

‘The project included a combination of converting applications,’ said Eliav Silberberg, marketing manager for Suron’s flexible dies and rotary tools division. ‘First, the lamination layers had to be sealed to fully protect the bio material. This specific task required a long process of testing and development as the sealing had to be done at the right temperature to insure perfect sealing, and at the same time we had to make sure the sealing temperature is not affecting the biological properties of the material. After sealing, the material is die-cut to individual cards. The cutting included perforation, cross cutting blades and finally slitting blades.’ 

The machine has been approved after a number of simulations and will be installed at the customer’s plant by mid April. From there it will start production of 1.5–2 million HIV exams per month which will be sent to Africa, South America and other parts of the world. 

‘This project with Ad-Mek is one of many where Suron uses its knowledge and expertise in rotary tooling in further fields other than the label industry,’ said Silberberg. ‘While we introduce new developments such as our NHT hardened gold die, we also supply converting solutions to a wide range of different fields and applications. 

‘We are highly satisfied with the positive results of this complex project, but even more happy to have been involved in a possibly life saving project which may change the future of many people around the world.’  

The machine includes an automatic labeling system to position the biological materials on the aluminum foil; a hot foil station with a sealing cylinder to seal the protecting film to the aluminum foil; and a rotary die-cutting station to perforate and cut the HIV cards. 

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