TE Connectivity Uses 3D Printing to Automate Catheter Shaft Manufacturing

TE Connectivity has developed an automated 3D printing process for producing catheter shafts, replacing a manual assembly step that has slowed medical device manufacturing for years. The process was created at the company's PROPELUS Prototype Center in Galway, Ireland, and is already pointed at production scale.

Catheter shafts are not uniform tubes. Different sections need different stiffness to navigate the body safely, so manufacturers traditionally build them by assembling pre-made segments with varying durometers. That hand-fitting step is time-consuming, and it limits how much the shaft design can vary along its length.

TE's new approach deposits polymer directly to build the varying stiffness into a single continuous shaft. The 3D printing process eliminates the need to join separate sections, which cuts assembly time and reduces material waste. The company says the method may also open up shaft geometries that are impractical to produce with conventional techniques, though it has not published specific examples.

The PROPELUS center runs three service lines: interventional catheters, engineered metal components, and electrical cable assemblies. Its engineers work alongside customer design teams, and the facility keeps stock of common catheter materials so projects can move quickly. That setup is why a process developed there arrives already validated for real manufacturing, not just prototyping.

This is not TE's first move into additive manufacturing for medical devices, but it is one of the most direct replacements of a manual step with an automated one. The company operates four medical manufacturing sites worldwide, including facilities in Costa Rica, Minnesota, and China. A process proven in Galway still has to travel to those locations before it can affect global production volumes and unit costs.