Nitinol tubing was first manufactured commercially in the early 1990's. Since then, the application have reached unprecedented levels and continue to rise today. Due to Nitinol's unique properties it has seen a large demand for use in less invasive medical devices. Nitinol tubing is commonly used in catheters, stents, and superelastic needles. Today, it offers the best compromise between engineered plastics and traditional metals.

Compared to other alloys tubing technologies Nitinol tubing technology is fairly recent but has many advantages over stainless steel hypotube.

Kink and crush resistance, Flexibility, Large amount of recoverable deformation, Generation of constant or low forces over a wide range of deformation, Energy storage and restoration.

Applications of Nitinol Tubing:

Formed Tubing Shapes, Beveled Needle Points, Cut Lengths, Catheter Shafts, Distal Protection, Laproscopes, Endoscopic Guide Tubes and Orthodontic Guide wires etc.

ASTM Standards of Nitinol Specifications:

ASTM International, in conjunction with the Nitinol community, has issued several standards that aid in specifying requirements for Nitinol.

ASTM F 2004-05: Standard Test Method for Determination of Transformation Temperature of Nickel-Titanium Shape Memory Alloys by Thermal Analysis

ASTM F 2063-05: Standard Specification for Wrought Nickel-Titanium Shape Memory Alloys for Medical Devices and Surgical Implants

ASTM F 2633-07: Standard Specification for Wrought Nickel-Titanium Shape Memory Alloy Tube for Medical Devices and Surgical Implants

ASTM F 2082-06: Standard Test Method for Determination of Transformation Temperature of Nickel-Titanium Shape Memory Alloys by Bend and Free Recovery

ASTM F 2516-07: Standard Test Method for Tension Testing of Nickel-Titanium Superelastic Materials