Chamfr
A Digital Approach to Accelerating Medical Device Development

Developing new medical devicesfor critical medical procedures and treatments is a sophisticated art. To begin with, design engineers require a range of tools and components at their disposal.

In the process of building a prototype, an engineer typically tries many different components in a wide range of sizes, materials, and configurations before finding what works best. Traditionally, this back-and-forth process could take weeks or even months, and ordering small quantities of components to tinker with could be costly.

This is where Chamfr comes in. The company is dedicated to connecting sellers of medical device components to medical device engineers and supply chain teams.

Chamfr has built an online/digitalmarketplace for fast access to medical device components, tools, and accessories such as catheters, balloons, polymer and metal tubing, catheter punch tools, mandrels, wires, and more.

“At Chamfr, we give engineers access to a wide range of in stock components and technologies for prototyping to spur the development of innovative medical devices," says Katie Karmelek, CTO of Chamfr. “This allows design engineers to launch their products faster by being able to iterate without long lead times and high-cost minimum orders.”

"With more than 1500 components,from 25 different sellers, all in stock and ready to ship, Chamfr is kind of like an Amazon for medical device components,” Katie says.

The catheter-based device market is growing rapidly. As the COVID-19 pandemic begins to wind down, many medical device companies are ramping up their R&D to make up for lost time. Catheter design engineers are leveraging the Chamfr platform to quickly source the components they need for various applications, such as structural heart and neurovascular.

Chamfr gives engineers digital access to a wide range of components and suppliers. Everything is in-stock and ready to ship so it’s like a big toolbox for engineers. With quick access to components, they can speedthe development of innovative medical devices

Chamfr is always adding new components, which most recentlyincludes connectors and fittings, as well as an expansion to its nitinol offerings.

As a multi-vendor platform dedicated solely to medical device components, Chamfr allows design engineers to choose components from a diverse base of sellers and a wide range of products. To meet the needs of their engineers, vendors provide certificates of conformance for the products they sell online to include in their DHF for future traceability of the design process. As the online marketplace acts as a one-stop-shop for medical components, design engineers can save time by searchingthousands of different types of components from dozens of sellers all together in one central place with one single checkout.

In one instance, the R&D manager of a design services company came across Chamfr to source components to support the development of their minimally invasive catheter-based device, which required tubes of various sizes and materials. Once they started browsing Chamfr’s component offerings, they were surprised to find much more than tubing. The R&D manager was able to source the components on Chamfr from multiple sellers in a single online order. It helped them complete their development project on time and at a fraction of the cost. “I’m glad that somebody pointed me to Chamfr’s website; Our R&D guys love it!” said the happy customer.

In the days to come, Chamfr plans to expand the business by bringing more sellers and new products to its online marketplace. This includes all the necessary components—including custom components—required to design all catheter-based devices under one roof. To Chamf, the supply chain of the future is digital, and they’re leading the transformation.