Medical grade Tantalum Spheres
X-medics offers a wide range of medical grade tantalum spheres. Tantalum offer good radiographic opacity and excellent biocompatibility. The micro-spheres are suitable as orthopedic x-ray markers for Radio Stereometric Analysis (RSA) to inserted into medical devices made from eg. PEEK. They are characterized by a good sphericity and a well-defined diameter and have adequate mechanical properties to withstand the impact of insertion into other materials. ASTM F86 passivation is a standard option offered by x-medics resulting in a well defined purity of the surface.
X-medics’ products are sold as technical components for production and R&D purposes. Unfortunately we do not offer finished medical devices or products registered for end-user surgery.
Tantalum beads, tantalum balls and tantalum spheres are synonyms for identical products.
Large Inventory for Instant Shipping
X-medics holds a large inventory of tantalum spheres for shipping off-the-shelf, and we can fulfill orders of almost any required quantity, delivered world-wide in a maximum of 3 days. Please contact us or browse our inventory below. For most products you can purchase small quantities for product testing. If you need beads in sizes or quantities that are not listed as a standard item, please contact us. It is possible that they may be made, or packaged, to order (lead time and minimum order requirement may apply).
Inventory of Tantalum Spheres available for instant Shipping
Browse and select your product below so see our available inventory. All listed products are available as test samples, that can be checked out by credit card directly from the products pages. Consider to order more test samples at the same time to save shipping costs.
Diameter 0.300 mm (0.0118")
Diameter 0.400 mm (0.0157")
Diameter 0.500 mm (0.0197")
Diameter 0.650 mm (0.0256")
Diameter 1.000 mm (0.0394")
Super polished
- B1000-BU2-S80: High Tolerance +/- 0.005 mm (0.0002″) – Ta R05200 – Super Polished – ASTM F86 Cleaned and Passivated
- B1000-BU2-S00: High Tolerance +/- 0.005 mm (0.0002″) – Ta R05200 – Super Polished
- B1000-BU2-S8K: High Tolerance +/- 0.005 mm (0.0002″) – Ta R05200 – Super Polished – ASTM F86 – Clean room packaging
Diameter 1.600 mm (0.0630")
Diameter 2.000 mm (0.0787")
Diameter 2.100 mm (0.0827")
Diameter 2.360 mm (0.0929")
Diameter 2.680 mm (0.1055")
Diameter 2.730 mm (0.1075")
Diameter 3.175 mm (0.125")
Sphere Tolerance
X-medics’ standard sphere tolerance is +/- 0.005 mm (AFMBA grade 50) that has been optimized for automated processing and general tolerance requirements when inserted into PEEK and other medical grade materials. For some sphere diameters we also offer a lower (+/- 0.02 mm) tolerance that can offered at a slightly lower cost than our standard tolerance.
> More about sphere tolerances.
Tantalum Specification
Surgical tantalum is available in two material forms – R05200 (electron beam / vacuum arc melted) and R05400 (sintered). Ta R05200 and Ta R05400 are equally suitable for surgery and offer almost similar mechanical and chemical characteristics.
> Read more about tantalum specification.
Surface finish
X-medics’ tantalum spheres are available as either standard polished or super polished. The standard polished spheres undergo a single polishing step during sphere processing and is is a cost optimized option that is suitable for most applications. The super polished spheres undergo several polishing steps and has been developed as a high-end option to be used in critical automated processes.
> Read more about surface finish.
ASTM F86 Cleaning and Passivation
ASTM F86 Cleaning and Passivation is a standard cleaning procedure to remove particles and process residues from the tantalum surface. As ASTM F86 is a cost efficient cleaning method it is specified by 90 percent of X-medics’ customers. In some cases ASTM F86 treatment is not suitable, as the the passivation may increase the thickness of natural occurring tantalum oxide layer on the metal surface. The thicker tantalum oxide layer may tend to build up static electricity and increase the surface roughness (friction) of the spheres.
ISO 9001 and ISO 13485
X-medics is ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certified by Bureau Veritas Europe.
> 9001:2015 certificate
> 13485:2016 certificate
3rd Party Material Testing
Every material lot used in X-medics’ production of spheres has been tested by an independent ISO 17025 accredited laboratory to confirm that the metal product satisfies the requirements of ASTM F560 / ISO 13782 and is suitable for ball processing. A copy of the certificate is provided with all shipments from X-medics. The laboratory analyses the chemical and mechanical characteristics of the wire and compare them again the material standards.
> Read more about 3rd party material testing.
Conflict Free Sourcing
All X-medics’ tantalum products are conflict-free. X-medics only works with suppliers that can show evidence for a continuously 3rd party auditing performed by independent auditors appointed by Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (www.eicc.info) or similar recognized bodies. Proper origin of the materials and compliance Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act conflict minerals is required documented and this documentation can be tracked on the certificate that follows any shipment from X-medics. X-medics does not use tantalum minerals with origin in the DRC Congo or other conflict areas covered by the law.
> Read more about conflict free sourcing .
ISO 10993-5 Cytotoxicity Testing
The produced spheres are tested for cytotoxicity according to ISO 10093-5 (Biological evaluation of medical devices — Part 5: Tests for in vitro cytotoxicity) by an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory. The test is done to verify that no harmful substances (process chemicals, cleaning agents or particles) remain in critical (cytotoxic) amounts after the spheres have been processed and cleaned.
> Read more about ISO 10993-5 Cytotoxicity Testing
REACH and RoHS Compliance
All products from x-medics are REACH and RoSH compliant.
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