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Nitinol Tube
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Wall Thickness | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.036 mm to 0.15 mm | 0.258 mm to 1.55 mm | 0.33 mm to 1.8 mm | 10 mm to 1000 mm |
Need custom configurations? Please contact us.
Key Features
Nitinol Tube (Ni 55/Ti 45, UNS N01555) is a shape-memory and superelastic nickel-titanium alloy tube in the As Drawn condition with an austenite finish temperature of +5°C ±7°C, supplied in a hollow cylindrical form that directly addresses the primary application of cardiovascular stent fabrication:
Austenite finish temperature near body temperature for stent deployment
The austenite finish temperature of +5°C ±7°C is set precisely to ensure that the device is fully in the superelastic austenite phase at physiological temperature (37°C), allowing a stent laser-cut from this tube to recover its prescribed expanded diameter upon deployment at body temperature after compression for catheter delivery. The AF temperature specification is the critical functional parameter for cardiovascular stent preform tube stock.
Tube geometry as the natural preform for cardiovascular stent fabrication
The hollow cylindrical tube form is the direct preform geometry for cardiovascular and peripheral vascular stents: the stent strut pattern is laser-cut from the tube wall, producing the final stent geometry from a single tube blank without additional forming steps. This makes nitinol tube the standard input material for stent manufacturing, with wall thickness and outer diameter specified to match the final stent geometry.
Superelasticity provides kink resistance during catheter delivery
Superelasticity in the As Drawn condition allows the tube and stent structures laser-cut from it to undergo the tight-radius bending required during catheter navigation through tortuous anatomy without kinking, with full shape recovery when the constraint is released. This kink resistance is not achievable in conventional metallic tube materials at comparable wall thicknesses.
Shape-memory behavior for thermal actuation in aerospace and industrial applications
Beyond medical devices, the same austenite finish temperature near ambient temperature enables shape-memory thermal actuation: the tube or actuator cut from it recovers its pre-set geometry when heated above the transformation temperature, providing a compact, single-piece actuator for aerospace thermal control, pipeline coupling, and industrial automation applications.
Biocompatibility for direct tissue contact
The TiO₂-rich passive surface oxide that forms on nitinol supports biocompatibility for direct contact with cardiovascular tissue, blood, and surrounding anatomy, a requirement for the implanted cardiovascular stent applications for which the tube geometry, austenite finish temperature, and superelasticity are collectively optimized.
Industrial Applications
Nitinol tube is used wherever the combination of the superelastic hollow cylindrical preform geometry, an austenite finish temperature near body or ambient temperature, and biocompatibility determines the material selection:
- ✦ Cardiovascular and peripheral vascular stent preform stock
- Used as stent preform stock for cardiovascular and peripheral vascular stent fabrication, where the tube wall is laser-cut to produce the stent strut pattern in a single processing step from the tube blank, and where the austenite finish temperature of +5°C ±7°C ensures deployment at physiological temperature with full diameter recovery, confirmed as the primary smart material for vascular stent development in the biomedical research literature.
- ✦ Shape-memory actuator tube elements in aerospace and surgical access device assemblies
- Applied as shape-memory actuator tube elements in aerospace thermal control systems and surgical access device assemblies, where the tube geometry provides the preform for actuator rings, coupling sleeves, and access device shafts that recover a prescribed geometry when heated above the austenite finish temperature, providing compact single-piece actuation without external mechanical linkages.
- ✦ Superelastic cannula and catheter component stock
- Used as superelastic cannula and catheter component stock where both kink resistance under tight-radius bending during navigation and shape recovery upon release are simultaneously required, with the tube geometry providing the hollow bore for guide wire and instrument passage in minimally invasive surgical delivery systems.
- ✦ Stent design and deployment mechanics investigations
- Applied in research for stent design and deployment mechanics investigations, including laser-cutting pattern optimization, radial force and fatigue characterization of stent structures cut from tube stock with defined wall thickness and diameter, and deployment simulation studies using tube blanks with the target austenite finish temperature specification.
- ✦ Superelastic fatigue characterization and MEMS microactuator development
- Used in research for superelastic fatigue characterization in tube geometry, including cyclic loading, kink fatigue, and radial fatigue testing of thin-wall nitinol tube specimens, and for MEMS microactuator and microvalve development from thin-wall NiTi tube stock where the tube geometry provides the preform for micro-scale shape-memory thermal actuation elements.
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 1310 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 6.5 |
Tolerances
| Outside Diameter | =<2mm | ±0.05mm |
|---|---|---|
| Outside Diameter | 2mm - 5mm | ±0.1mm |
| Outside Diameter | >5mm | ±5% |
| Wall Thickness | ±10% | |
| Length | <100mm | ±1mm |
| Length | >=100mm | +5% / -1% |