A pipe belling process where a heated thermoplastic pipe end is forced over a sealing gasket on a forming mandrel, with the pipe being subsequently cooled to retain the gasket in an internal groove simultaneously formed in the pipe end. The sealing gasket is a two-component gasket with an elastic component and a plastic component. The elastic component is stretched over a portion of the plastic component during assembly with the plastic component acting as a belling ramp for the gasket during the subsequent pipe belling operation.

A method of making a flexible medical article or tube, for example, a sheath for a vascular access device, is provided. The method can include extruding a polymer, for example, a polycarbonate-urethane copolymer, to form a tube and annealing the extruded polymer. The method can further include cutting the extruded tube to a desired length before or after annealing, flaring one end of the annealed tube and over-molding the flared portion onto a hub, and forming the other end of the tube into a tip. A sheath formed by such a method is also provided.

A pipe end processing device includes a female die and a male die. The female die has a through hole with one side thereof being radially increased, the through hole having the molding surface for forming the protrusion formed on an inner circumference on the one side of the through hole. The male die includes a metal core passed through the through hole of the female die and configured to be axially moved, and a tubular elastic body fitted on one end part of the metal core and protruding from the one side of the female die. The tubular elastic body is configured to be axially compressed by a movement of the metal core to radially expand by deformation thereby to press the surface to be processed of the pipe against the molding surface of the female die.

A method of making a flexible medical article or tube, for example, a sheath for a vascular access device, is provided. The method can include extruding a polymer, for example, a polycarbonate-urethane copolymer, to form a tube and annealing the extruded polymer. The method can further include cutting the extruded tube to a desired length before or after annealing, flaring one end of the annealed tube and over-molding the flared portion onto a hub, and forming the other end of the tube into a tip. A sheath formed by such a method is also provided.

A method of making a flexible medical article or tube, for example, a sheath for a vascular access device, is provided. The method can include extruding a polymer, for example, a polycarbonate-urethane copolymer, to form a tube and annealing the extruded polymer. The method can further include cutting the extruded tube to a desired length before or after annealing, flaring one end of the annealed tube and over-molding the flared portion onto a hub, and forming the other end of the tube into a tip. A sheath formed by such a method is also provided.

A method of making a flexible medical article or tube, for example, a sheath for a vascular access device, is provided. The method can include extruding a polymer, for example, a polycarbonate-urethane copolymer, to form a tube and annealing the extruded polymer. The method can further include cutting the extruded tube to a desired length before or after annealing, flaring one end of the annealed tube and over-molding the flared portion onto a hub, and forming the other end of the tube into a tip. A sheath formed by such a method is also provided.

A guard for providing a cut-resistant pathway through a body orifice or incision to circumferentially protect tissue at the margin is provided. The guard is made of flexible, cut-resistant mesh material having a plurality of interwoven thermosetting filaments. The guard has a central lumen and at least one flared end. The flared end, which serves to anchor the guard in the body opening, is deformable into a reduced configuration to facilitate its insertion and removal. The layer of mesh stretches laterally to increase the diameter of the central lumen. The flexibility and expandability of the guard allows the guard to conform to body openings of different sizes. The guard may include a drawstring to cinch the flared distal end from the proximal end. The guard is thermoset with the flared distal end that is biased to spring back to its normal, undeformed configuration when released from a deformed configuration.

An expansion tool includes a housing and an expansion head coupled to the housing. The expansion head includes a casing and a plurality of jaws extending from the casing. The plurality of jaws is movable between a closed position and an expanded position relative to a longitudinal axis. Each jaw of the plurality of jaws includes a first sizing portion extending parallel to the longitudinal axis and a second sizing portion extending parallel to the longitudinal axis. The first sizing portions of the plurality of jaws collectively define a first diameter when the plurality of jaws is in the closed position, the second sizing portions of the plurality of jaws collectively define a second diameter when the plurality of jaws is in the closed position, and the second diameter is greater than the first diameter.

The present disclosure generally pertains to methods for manufacturing an improved plastic pipe. One method includes the steps of: providing a plastic pipe; heating a plastic pipe; inserting a mandrel into the heated plastic pipe to form a bell socket end, wherein the mandrel includes a Rieber gasket and a dummy gasket spanning the outer surface of the mandrel; cooling the plastic pipe; and removing the mandrel from the plastic pipe, wherein the Rieber gasket and dummy gasket remain within a gasket cavity formed in the newly-formed bell socket end of the plastic pipe. The method results in the bell socket end of the pipe having an interior diameter greater than the exterior diameter of the opposing, spigot end of the pipe, wherein the bell socket end further includes a gasket cavity with a greater diameter than the remainder of the bell socket end.

A guard for providing a cut-resistant pathway through a body orifice or incision to circumferentially protect tissue at the margin is provided. The guard is made of flexible, cut-resistant mesh material having a plurality of interwoven thermosetting filaments. The guard has a central lumen and at least one flared end. The flared end, which serves to anchor the guard in the body opening, is deformable into a reduced configuration to facilitate its insertion and removal. The layer of mesh stretches laterally to increase the diameter of the central lumen. The flexibility and expandability of the guard allows the guard to conform to body openings of different sizes. The guard may include a drawstring to cinch the flared distal end from the proximal end. The guard is thermoset with the flared distal end that is biased to spring back to its normal, undeformed configuration when released from a deformed configuration.