McIver Engineering machines precision components for Australian medical device developers, laboratories and instrument makers, in stainless steel and engineering plastics, from first prototype through to repeat production.
On medical and laboratory parts the finish usually matters more than one more decimal place of tolerance. A surface that has to be wiped down, sterilised or kept free of residue cannot carry tool witness marks, sharp internal corners or a rough as machined texture where fluid can sit. We machine those faces with finishing passes and appropriate tooling rather than relying on abrasive work afterwards to rescue them.
Where a consistent appearance is required, stainless is linished to a uniform grain direction rather than polished in patches, and welded joints on fabricated assemblies are dressed and passivated so there is no heat tint or crevice left behind. Edges are deburred by hand on features an operator or a technician will touch.
Parts are degreased in the workshop and wrapped before dispatch so they arrive free of cutting fluid and swarf. That is a workshop process, not a validated cleaning process, and we do not have a cleanroom, so where a device requires validated cleaning that step sits with you or a specialist. Passivation is done in house on stainless; electropolishing is arranged outside where a specification calls for it. Tell us at enquiry stage if your process requires a specific cleaning or packaging regime.
In stainless we machine 304 for general corrosion resistance and 316 where chlorides, cleaning chemicals or reagents are involved. 316 work hardens readily, so it is machined with a positive rake, a constant feed and no dwelling in the cut, which is what keeps a bore round and a thread clean rather than glazed.
In plastics, PEEK is specified where a part must be dimensionally stable, chemically resistant and repeatedly sterilised. Delrin machines cleanly and holds tolerance well on bushings, rollers and small mechanisms. Nylon is used where a little compliance and wear resistance is wanted. All three are machined dry or with air where fluid absorption would be a problem, with sharp dedicated tooling so the part is cut rather than melted.
Aluminium, brass and titanium round out the material list, and mixed assemblies with a stainless frame and machined plastic inserts are routine work rather than an exception.
Medical and laboratory buyers usually need to prove what a part is made of, not just that it fits. We buy material to specification, keep it identified through the job, and supply mill certificates and batch traceability on request so the stock used on your order can be tied back to its source.
Dimensional inspection reports are provided where the drawing or the purchase order asks for them, and first article inspection is available so a first part can be measured and signed off before a batch is committed. Any non conformance is raised with you before the parts ship.
We are clear about what we are not. McIver Engineering does not hold ISO 13485 and is not a device manufacturer of record. We are a subcontract precision manufacturer working to your drawing, and the regulatory file stays with you. Our published quality process is set out on our quality and certification page.
Device development rarely runs in a straight line, so we quote single parts the same way we quote batches. There is no minimum order quantity. A developer can have one machined housing this month, a revised version next month, and a batch of fifty once the design settles, without changing supplier or re explaining the part.
Because the same workshop makes the prototype and the production run, what you learn on the first part carries forward. Work holding, tooling and inspection method are already proven, so a production batch is a scale up rather than a fresh start, and the transition does not reintroduce risk on a design you have already evaluated.
We also give design for manufacture feedback on the first revision. If a radius, a tolerance or a wall thickness is driving cost without doing anything for the device, we will say so before you commit, and suggest an alternative that machines more predictably.
No. McIver Engineering does not hold ISO 13485 or any medical device certification, and we hold no TGA listing. We machine and fabricate components to your drawing and specification as a subcontract manufacturer, and the device level regulatory responsibility stays with you.
No. Parts are degreased in the workshop and wrapped for despatch, which suits most laboratory and instrument components but is not a validated or cleanroom process. If your part needs cleanroom handling or validated cleaning, that step has to sit with you or with a specialist, and we will pack the parts to suit that next stage.
Passivation is done in our own workshop. Electropolishing is not something we do in house, so where a specification calls for it we arrange it with an outside finisher as part of the job.
We machine to a standard machined finish and dress or linish surfaces where appearance or cleanability matters. If your part needs a specific surface roughness figure, call it up on the drawing on the faces that matter and we will confirm at enquiry stage what we can hold and whether an external finishing step is required.
Yes. We can complete and return certificates of conformance in your own template rather than only in ours, alongside material test certificates and dimensional reports. Send the format with the purchase order so it is filled in as the job runs rather than reconstructed afterwards.
Most medical and laboratory work we see is 304 and 316 stainless steel, aluminium, and engineering plastics including PEEK, Delrin and nylon. Titanium and brass also come through for instrument and fixture components.
Yes. We machine one off and low volume prototypes with no minimum order quantity, then carry the same setup forward when a design is settled. Australian device developers use this to iterate a housing or fixture through several revisions before committing to production tooling.
Yes. We supply material test certificates and batch traceability on request, and dimensional inspection reports where the drawing or purchase order calls for them. Ask for the documentation you need at order stage so material is allocated and recorded from the outset.
Call the finish out on the drawing on the specific faces that matter, rather than as a general note across the whole part. Tell us which surfaces contact product, tissue or reagent, and which simply need to look consistent, and we will machine and finish to suit rather than polishing features that do not need it.
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