Life Sciences

We offer fluid system products, assemblies, and services that help medical device and pharmaceutical drug manufacturers achieve their goals for quality, speed to market, and cost control.

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Products to Enable World-Class Medical Devices and Medicines

biotechnology laboratory Swagelok supports medical device, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies with fluid system products and services that promote a safe, reliable operation in the most sanitary and sterile production environments. We offer leak-tight components and assemblies that are easy to install, disassemble for cleaning, and reassemble, all without compromising quality.

Our specialists can help you manage the pressures that come with building the devices and manufacturing the medicines that support human wellness, including:

Providing design and assembly services tailored to your business to help get your medical device or pharmaceutical drug to market quickly
Maintaining a high degree of accuracy and purity throughout manufacturing processes and clinical procedures to enable optimal results
Navigating a complex range of fluid system components and industry compliance standards like ISO 9001, 13485 and 14971
Improving operational efficiency and reducing costs despite demanding lead times and mounting logistics challenges related to products and materials

We connect manufacturers to components and assemblies that help their machines and equipment operate dependably. Your local authorized Swagelok sales and service center is the place to start for products and technical advice.

Swagelok is for Companies that Care for People

Our products and services support the life sciences market in the design and manufacturing of:

Pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals
Biotechnologies
Cosmetics
Gas delivery and control systems within health care facilities and research laboratories
Healthcare equipment for critical heart and brain surgeries
Medical devices such as respirators and water purifiers

Products for Life Sciences

Find a wide range of standard and custom components and assemblies when you choose us as your fluid systems provider. All products are backed by the Swagelok Limited Lifetime Warranty, and everything we design, manufacture, and build is to help you achieve the highest level of application, process, and instrumentation integrity. Following are some of the many solutions we provide for medical device and pharmaceutical drug manufacturing.

Fittings

The remarkable dependability of Swagelok^® tube fittings has been proven over 75 years. A leak-tight, gas-tight seal in an easy-to-install, easy-to-disassemble, and easy-to-reassemble form supports safe and reliable machine operations day after day. Find standard and specialty tube fittings and adapters in many alloys and configurations.

Valves

Our process and instrumentation valves provide reliability and require low maintenance. Swagelok^® 40 series and 60 series ball valves are known for durability and ability to suit a wide range of system conditions in the life sciences and manufacturing sectors. Also turn to us for check valves, needle and metering valves, relief valve s, and plug valves.

Sanitary Hose

Get sanitary hose that meets specifications for clean room environments and other hygienic applications. Highly flexible, smooth-bore PFA core hose complies with FDA regulation 21CFR Part 177.1550, USP 87, 88 Class VI, and 3-A. PTFE core hose smooth bore provides chemical compatibility, drainability, and flexibility where desired and is FDA and USP Class VI compliant. Industry standard end connections as well as custom connections and hose lengths are available including options for hose covers and hose tags.

Gas distribution system for the life science industry

Gas Distribution Systems

We can design and assemble a gas delivery system for your manufacturing plant, clinic, or lab. Our standard gas delivery panels come fully assembled and tested. All systems are highly configurable with features and modifications to suit your requirements.

Regulators

Get the set of capabilities you need from your regulators. Swagelok pressure-reducing (spring-loaded or dome-loaded), back-pressure (spring-loaded and dome-loaded), and specialty regulators maintain pressure and minimize droop over a wide range of pressures and flows. Let our team help you by recommending and assembling regulator configurations.

Orbital Welding System

For a consistent, efficient approach to welding, the Swagelok^® orbital welding system offers precision, control, and touchscreen operation. Make quality repeatable orbital gas tungsten arc welds (GTAW) for both tubing and pipe using a lightweight, portable solution. Real-time monitoring and recording capabilities also streamline documentation for easy adherence to industry requirements.

Quick Connects

We offer a variety of quick-connect fittings that enable fast, simple operation without twisting, turning, or wrenching. These fittings are engineered to minimize spillage and air inclusion so you can make connections with confidence. Our complete line includes full-flow, instrumentation, miniature, and PTFE-sealed quick connects.

Small-Bore Tubing

We have the small-bore tubing to form the backbone of your fluid delivery system. Compared to conventional piping, small-bore tubing (up to 2 in. [51 mm] O.D.) reduces the number of connections, and thus potential leak points, for greater system integrity.

Pressure Gauges

Choose from a wide selection of gauges designed for all conditions ranging from low pressure to severe service. Multiple-mount configurations make our gauges convenient to install. Also, find other measurement devices including pressure transducers, flow sensors, and thermometers.

Services for Life Sciences

Our customers need leak-tight solutions, continuous quality, on-time deliveries, and safe and reliable gas distribution. Swagelok field engineers help create consistent and predictable results for manufacturing and research facilities from determining needs to training staff to identifying the root cause of problems.

Design and Assembly

As health care equipment and medical devices become more compact and as laboratory applications demand higher-pressure components, we can support your R&D, prototyping, and final design approval stages, so you can focus on the manufacturing environment.

Gas distribution services for the life science industry

Gas Distribution Program

Standardized, configurable, and documented gas distribution systems can improve process accuracy, repeatability, and uptime while making operator safety the focus. We are uniquely positioned to provide gas delivery and pressure control advisory services that work together to help facilities operate at optimum efficiency with the well-being of all employees in mind.

Hose Advisory Services

Eliminate a variety of hose-related issues that cause safety concerns or costly downtime by engaging our experienced hose advisors. We will walk the floor of your facilities to learn what an optimized fluid system means to your ability to stay productive and profitable. Receive a detailed report containing overall findings and prioritized improvement recommendations.

Essentials Training

Meet day-to-day challenges with certified training courses that include essential knowledge about tube fittings, tube bending, and hose management. We can also provide instruction on valve selection and regulator use. Ask our specialists about onsite and virtual training opportunities.

Orbital Welding Training

Orbital welding training for your staff can help you overcome issues related to widespread welder shortages. Make the most of what modern orbital welding offers with our five-day training course that is held at selected Swagelok sales and service centers.

sales and service center business support

Locally Stocked Inventory

Swagelok authorized local sales and service centers can assist you with inventory optimizing, organizing, labeling, and reordering to help prevent stockouts and reduce the risk of downtime. Eliminate transaction fees and avoid being bogged down by surplus items with carefully managed onsite inventory services.

How We Support Life Sciences

New Product Development

By investing time and resources in early-stage R&D for concept medical devices and pharmaceuticals, we become a core resource on the path to your successful project outcome. Our collaborative sales and engineering process allow you to focus on the development of new technologies while remaining flexible and agile. This also helps to avoid spending for new infrastructure before it is required to support serial production.

Within this model, the customer develops intellectual property, software, design, and regulatory documentation, and Swagelok provides the fluid control and containment expertise along with the infrastructure to support limited-scale manufacturing and testing. We also support the growth of customer personnel through knowledge transfer.
Our approach helps you avoid the significant effort and expense that come with making changes to already approved medical devices and technologies, whereby modifications to design, component selection, form, or function require reassessment.
By matching our sales cycle to your new product development cycle, we create project synergies from concept to creation, so you go to market faster.

Meeting Quality Expectations

We understand the stringent expectations global health care manufacturers have for validation and change controls. That’s why we never rest when it comes to quality. For more than seven decades, we have demonstrated our commitment to designing, manufacturing, and delivering reliable fluid system components. Today, customers are asking us to expand our offerings and find new ways to help them solve emerging challenges.

Our authorized sales and service centers help to develop these new products that must meet high standards of excellence. The Swagelok Quality System (SQS) is a business management system that enables process improvements throughout our supply chain.

SQS offers a faster and easier way to introduce new products and services and to establish new initiatives and processes. With SQS, we are in a better position to anticipate your changing needs and consistently deliver high-quality outcomes.
Most global health care manufacturer audits are focused on ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. SQS positions us to meet or exceed these requirements.

Achieving Compliance Standards

We know everything that is required to maintain an appropriate quality standard. We help medical device and pharmaceuticals manufacturers consistently meet customer and regulatory requirements like ISO 13485:2016 and ISO 14971:2019.

Achieving and maintaining ISO compliance can require significant additional working practices, documentation, and cost. By engaging companies early in the planning process, we develop a thorough understanding of their needs. This helps us deliver products and solutions that are harmonized with applicable regulations and risk acceptability criteria.
We are well-versed in FDA established Quality System Regulations (QSR) addressing medical device design and validation as well as good manufacturing practices. We can help with the ins and outs of compliant investigations and device performance.

Resource Center

Choosing the right hose end connection type

Blog: The Importance of Flexible Hose End Connection Types

There are a variety of flexible hose end connection types to consider when designing a fluid system. Selecting the wrong type can undermine critical processes, put workers at risk, and compromise your bottom line. Learn how to securely connect components within a fluid system.

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Video: Compressed Gas Leak Detection Services

We can help you identify compressed gas leaks and quantify leak rates so you can prioritize the most critical issues to address based on safety, cost, and productivity. Improve efficiency and reliability in everyday plant operations with Swagelok^® services.

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How can you be sure your fluid systems are operating safely, efficiently, and are resulting in high-quality products for your customers? Think about bringing a third-party technical expert into your manufacturing facility, clinic, or lab to help identify areas of potential improvement.

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Onsite visits are often crucial to understanding your facility’s unique challenges, environments, and objectives. Our comprehensive onsite services can help you discover a wide range of issues including corrosion, faulty connections, incompatible hose, leaks, and more.

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Blog: Optimize Your Gas Distribution Systems

Whether you have engineered your gas delivery system in-house, or if it was assembled with the help of a supplier, opportunities may exist to improve safety and reduce cost. In fact, many systems operate without organizational awareness of inefficiencies that impact the bottom line.

Gas distribution systems for the life science industry

Video: Swagelok^® Gas Distribution Systems

We can design and assemble a gas delivery system suited to your manufacturing environment. Our modular panels feature minimal threaded connections to reduce potential leak points and are plainly labeled to promote safe, simple use and maintenance.

supply pressure effect in a pressure reducing regulator

Blog: Managing Supply Pressure Effect (SPE) in Regulators

With the regulator controlling outlet pressure from a gas cylinder, SPE is a phenomenon that will always be present. Whenever there is a change in inlet pressure, there will be a corresponding change in outlet pressure. You can minimize SPE with the right regulator or gas panel solution.

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Blog: Improving Lab Safety and Productivity

For research facilities and laboratories, there can be rippling consequences when leaks in gas delivery systems cause flow issues. Relying on the accuracy of the tests you are performing starts with maintaining consistent and safe gas delivery to critical points of use.