Medical Design

Benefits of Stainless Steel in Medical Device Design

Feb. 24, 2025

A fabricator of ultra-high precision, cut-to-length, stainless steel tube & bar showcases the benefits of using stainless steel.

Rehana Begg

Robert Bubencik, Jr., the president of Eagle Stainless Tube and Fabrication Inc., gave Machine Design an overview of stainless steel instruments at MD&M West 2025.

Eagle Stainless, located in Franklin, Mass., is a distributor and fabricator of stainless steel tubes, and Bubencik, who characterized the company as “three companies in one,” said that the medical design and manufacturing trade show is a significant event for his company and the North American medical industry in general.

Small diameter stainless tubes are the company’s specialty, Bubencik said, before listing other capabilities. “If you just need long lengths, Kanban, or just-in-time type deliveries for stainless steel tubing, we can help you with that,” he said. “If you're looking to have parts just cut to size, we can help you with that. And if you needed any type of fabrication, bending, welding, laser wire EDM, that type of work, we could also quote on doing that type of fabrication coils as well.”

Robert Bubencik, Jr., president of Eagle Stainless Tube & Fabrication Inc.

Why Medical Device Engineers Use Austenitic Stainless Steel

Eagle Stainless deals primarily with 300 series stainless steels. This family of stainless steel is derived from a grouping known as Austenitic stainless steels. Its metal structure is obtained primarily by adding nickel.

Bubencik said this series is favored in the medical device industry because of its biocompatibility. “The biocompatibility of stainless steel is used a lot in different designs for different types of non-invasive instruments,” he said.

Other versatile properties include its ability to be formed, bent, coiled or threaded.

“The versatility of the metal itself allows the designer to be able to use that metal to design his or her concept that she's looking to design, which makes it a great choice for the medical device industry,” said Bubencik.

He pointed out that stainless steel can also be electro polished, which can be aesthetically pleasing in the design of devices. Alternatively, stainless steel can be sandblasted to a matte finish.

Recyclability of Stainless Steel

“A big advantage, especially today, is the recyclability of stainless steel,” said Bubencik.

The 300 series stainless steel is 100% recyclable. “All of these metals that you see here today most likely have had portions of recycled metals from the past that have been added in into their melt,” he pointed out.

Given the trend toward environmental sustainability, “stainless steel is a wonderful choice for your instruments,” Bubencik added.

About the Author

Rehana Begg | Editor-in-Chief, Machine Design

As Machine Design’s content lead, Rehana Begg is tasked with elevating the voice of the design and multi-disciplinary engineer in the face of digital transformation and engineering innovation. Begg has more than 24 years of editorial experience and has spent the past decade in the trenches of industrial manufacturing, focusing on new technologies, manufacturing innovation and business. Her B2B career has taken her from corporate boardrooms to plant floors and underground mining stopes, covering everything from automation & IIoT, robotics, mechanical design and additive manufacturing to plant operations, maintenance, reliability and continuous improvement. Begg holds an MBA, a Master of Journalism degree, and a BA (Hons.) in Political Science. She is committed to lifelong learning and feeds her passion for innovation in publishing, transparent science and clear communication by attending relevant conferences and seminars/workshops.

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