A South African dental implant manufacturer and distributor is ahead of the field when it comes to anodising titanium. Since the Pretoria-based company was established in 1987, Southern Implants has been a pioneer in the field of dental implant science. The company is constantly expanding its product range to incorporate the newest technologies and trends, and the use of a programmable power supply to ensure consistent colour on its titanium components is just one of these innovations.
The colour coded components are also used to produce heart valves, cochlear implants and spinal inserts
Colouring titanium using a programmable power supply is not new, in fact, anodising is one of the few predictable methods. Southern Implants’ technical manager, Christo van der Walt, explains: “A constant current at a preset voltage is important to give the precise colour needed on titanium components. We chose the Xantrex programmable power supply as it provided the adjustable accuracy we require to render the different colours we use to categorise our products.”
Prior to acquiring the Xantrex XHR Series DC power supply, Southern Implants utilised a simple power pack that did not offer the required accuracy. The company is now in the process of acquiring a second power supply as volumes have increased rapidly and there is need for additional capacity. Van der Walt adds, “We process some 1000 components a day and in order to increase our throughput, we decided to acquire another Xantrex supply.”
Comtest’s Hilton Preston says, “The Xantrex XHR DC power supply provides 1000 watts of DC power in a compact half-rack package. The XHR is power factor corrected for low current draw and reduced generation of input current harmonics. Zero voltage or soft switching virtually eliminates switching transients for high efficiency, low noise and high reliability.”
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