A major medical device manufacturer producing warming beds faced with major preventable repair costs and UL listing difficulties turned to MEGA to provide a solution.
In the harsh environment of hospitals, hospital grade plugs are often yanked from walls, hit and smashed with no apparent damage. However, small repetitive breaks at the pin and conductor junctions eventually can cause the plugs to overheat and fail. The failure of a competitor’s plug caused costly repair calls and the need to improve the plug performance.
MEGA created a new plug tool with a larger body capable of withstanding greater stresses. Each nickel-plated solid pin is soldered to the conductor lowering the risk of individual strands breaking. In addition, a metal retaining ring is applied to the cordage prior to over molding, greatly increasing the retention strength. The combination of these developments resulted in a zero failure rate in the field.
Because of the proximity of the cord to the heating element inside of the bed, UL requested a heat shield be installed to shield the 60°C rated PVC cable. MEGA suggested the use of a 105°C rated SJT cable and upon testing the cord, was accepted and removed an additional component and manufacturing step.