Vacuum Clamping Of Orthopaedic
Insoles Before Forming
the Poland but soon the market will spread
to neighbour countries. Mariusz Strzecha
is sure that this innovative technology will
be adoptedby many others throughout
the world. In Poland, KOORDYNACJA works
with orthopaedic specialists who make
their own diagnosis, take measurements,
and send data for the insole to be
produced by KOORDYNACJA.
Before the insole is milled, the most
suitable foam material must be selected.
KOORDYNACJA uses a variety of materials
comprising layers of different hardness,
allowing a perfect match to the patient’s
T
he KOORDYNACJA company
convinced that at some point in their
in Radom, Poland, has
lives, most people experience back or
made a name for itself with
joint problems caused by misaligned or
innovative ideas in podiatric
asymmetrical feet or different leg lengths.
orthopaedics. In addition to a podiatric
clinic, KOORDYNACJA also develops
and markets orthopaedic devices. The
latest development is a CNC milling
centre, which reads patients’ data and
automatically manufactures orthopaedic
insoles from foam material with the
required dimensions and density.
These problems could be avoided
by compensating for foot and leg
discrepancies using custom-made
orthopaedic insoles. Mariusz Strzecha
uses a number of diagnostic devices in
his clinic: patients’ feet are 2D scanned,
photographed, casts are made in foam,
and pressure points are identified by the
During the milling process, the foam
patient walking on a pressure platform
material is clamped securely to the
or treadmill fitted with pressure sensors.
machining table by vacuum. Mariusz
The alignment o f knees and hips are also
Strzecha, the proprietor of Koordynacja
measured, and finally a 3D scan of feet is
and developer of the milling centre,
conducted.
chose a Busch Seco rotary vane vacuum
pump for the vacuum supply. Numerous
trials with other vacuum generators were
conducted, but only the Seco system met
all the requirements for series production.
KOORDYNACJA was founded in 2010,
and initially specialised in podiatric
orthopaedics for athletes. Mariusz Strzecha
Information gathered from
these examinations is entered
using a special software
package developed by the
company. The software
calculates the perfect shape of
requirements to be made. A block of the
chosen foam material is placed on the
machining table of the milling centre, and
is clamped securely using vacuum applied
through channels in the table by a Busch
Seco rotary vane vacuum pump.
The vacuum pump must apply sufficient
force to prevent the material from moving.
For Mariusz Strzecha it was important
to find a vacuum pump with adequate
performance reserves that operated
quietly, reliably and without oil. After a
number of experiments with other vacuum
generators, he found that the Busch Seco
rotary vane vacuum pump provided the
perfect solution.
Seco rotary vane vacuum pumps work
without operating fluids, which means
they use no oil and maintenance tasks
such as oil and filter replacement are not
required. The compact dimensions of the
vacuum system allow it to be installed
in the housing of the milling centre. The
Seco vacuum pump runs very quietly, and
is inaudible above the noise of milling
the insole required, and passes
the data to the CNC milling
centre.
operations.
attending his clinic benefit from the latest
The CNC milling centre “CNC Foot Insole”
to air to some extent, so a certain amount
diagnostic equipment. Mariusz Strzecha is
was developed in 2014, and is sold across
of leakage is experienced during the
used the experience acquired in this field
to develop new diagnostic devices, which
he now manufactures and markets with
the help of his employees. The patients
62
PECM Issue 17
Vacuum pump output was an important
issue for Mariusz Strzecha: all the layers of
foam used for the insoles are permeable