NWP Pump Platform for Medical Imaging Equipment

Cost-Optimized, Welded Stainless-Steel Design

A welded stainless-steel pump platform designed to improve global cost competitiveness, enable regional manufacturing, and support streamlined OEM validation

Summary

Tark Thermal Solutions is developing the NWP pump platform, a next-generation, hermetically sealed, welded stainless-steel pump solution for medical imaging equipment, including rotating-gantry applications. Designed to improve cost competitiveness and support regional manufacturing, NWP targets 35–50% lower sales prices, depending on configuration, volume, and sourcing conditions.
 

Introduction

Medical imaging equipment manufacturers are under increasing pressure to reduce total system cost while supporting regional production strategies in key markets. Localized supply chains, in-country / for-country manufacturing models, shorter lead times, resilient sourcing, and speed of qualification are becoming important design and procurement considerations.

For pump suppliers, this creates a demanding engineering challenge: improve cost competitiveness and regional manufacturability without requiring customers to adopt a fundamentally different pump concept or absorb unnecessary qualification disruption.

The NWP pump platform is being developed to address these requirements with a welded stainless-steel architecture designed for regional production and a more manageable OEM validation path.
 

Medical imaging systems application challenge

Medical imaging systems, particularly rotating-gantry applications, operate within strict space, integration, and reliability constraints. Pump selection is not simply a matter of meeting a hydraulic operating point. Equipment manufacturers must also consider enclosure geometry, mounting interfaces, high-G operating conditions, sealing strategy, material selection, supply continuity, and the work required to validate a design within an established system.

Legacy welded pump platforms have provided a proven solution for these applications. At the same time, their cost structure has become difficult to defend in a globally competitive market. Their production depends on labor-intensive manufacturing methods, multiple internal and external TIG welds, and a higher component count, and it is typically concentrated in a single manufacturing region rather than positioned close to regional customer assembly sites.

A lower-cost alternative must therefore do more than reduce purchase price. It must retain the characteristics that help OEMs integrate, qualify, and support the pump in demanding medical imaging equipment.
 

The NWP pump design objective

Tark Thermal Solutions is developing the NWP pump platform to address this challenge. NWP is a next-generation welded medical imaging pump platform designed to improve global cost competitiveness, support regional in-country manufacturing, and support a more manageable customer validation path by preserving key architecture, form, fit, and function similarities with the time-tested and trusted HDD Series portfolio.

The NWP platform is being developed to harmonize three requirements that are often in conflict:

• A more globally competitive cost structure
• Regional manufacturing capability closer to customer assembly locations and end markets
• A manageable customer validation path through continuity with familiar HDD Series design principles
   

Rather than treating these needs as separate initiatives, NWP combines them in a single platform strategy. The objective is to preserve what medical imaging OEMs trust in Tark’s established pump architecture while reducing the cost and manufacturing constraints that can limit global competitiveness.
 

Platform Approach

1. Global competitiveness

NWP is designed to create a more competitive cost structure through simplified architecture, a reduced component count, deliberate material selection, and improved manufacturability. The platform strategy includes automated welding, use of qualified in-region supply options, and production capability that can be aligned to regional demand.

Depending on pump model, configuration, order volume, and in-region sourcing, the platform can support a price reduction range of 35% to 50%. This is a target range, with the actual value depending on the specific application and supply-chain model.

The goal is a sustainable cost structure, not a one-time discount. By reducing manufacturing complexity and enabling regional sourcing and production, the platform is intended to give OEMs a long-term path to cost reduction without compromising the core operating requirements of their equipment.

2. Global in-region production capability

NWP is designed to support manufacturing closer to customer assembly locations and the end markets those systems serve. This in-country and for-country approach is particularly relevant for APAC medical imaging programs, where local content, lead time, tariff exposure, logistics cost, and supply-chain responsiveness increasingly influence sourcing decisions.

Regional production capability can support:

• Locally sourced materials and components where appropriate
• Shorter supply chains, potentially reduced lead times, and improved sourcing resilience
• Reduced tariff and logistics exposure
• Faster response to regional demand
• Better alignment with OEM localization and lower cost initiatives
• Greater support for growth markets through regional production and sales
   

NWP is not just a pump redesign. It is a platform developed to help Tark Thermal Solutions and its OEM customers compete in a global market with a manufacturing model aligned with regional needs.

3. Streamlined validation pathways

NWP is being developed to maintain key similarities with the established HDD Series platforms (HDD40, HDD60, and HDD80). The intent is to preserve the design attributes that customers already understand while introducing a more cost-competitive manufacturing and supply approach.

Key continuity elements include:

• Hermetically sealed, welded stainless-steel construction
• Retention of hermetic welded sealing rather than a shift to mechanical seals and O-rings in high-G applications
• Similar form, fit, and function for rotating-gantry operating environments
• Familiar installation and system-integration expectations
• Continuity with the established Tark pump architecture and customer experience
   

This continuity does not eliminate OEM validation requirements. Each customer and application will require its own qualification process. However, maintaining the core architecture, functionality, and integration characteristics can make validation more manageable than transitioning to a fundamentally different pump body, material system, sealing method, or installation concept.

Why Welded Stainless Steel Construction Matters
For medical imaging applications subject to rotating-gantry loads, the pump housing and sealing strategy are integral to system integrity and performance. NWP retains a hermetically sealed, welded stainless-steel design rather than shifting wholesale to mechanical seals, O-rings, or an unfamiliar non-metal body solution.

• This construction approach supports several key objectives:
• It maintains a construction method familiar to medical imaging OEM engineering teams
• It aligns with established sealing and containment expectations in high-G applications
• It supports continuity in installation, integration, and service considerations
• It reduces the extent of change that must be assessed during qualification
   

At the same time, NWP is intended to improve manufacturability through automated welding and regional production methods. The result is a platform that seeks to retain the advantages of welded stainless-steel construction while addressing the labor, component, and production-location challenges associated with legacy approaches.

Value to Medical Imaging OEMs

The NWP platform is intended for equipment manufacturers that need to reduce system cost and improve supply-chain flexibility without adopting a fundamentally different pump architecture, sealing method, or integration approach

Application Summary

NWP is Tark Thermal Solutions’ welded pump platform for medical imaging equipment manufacturers seeking a more globally competitive and regionally manufacturable solution. It is being developed to combine cost optimization with continuity in welded, hermetically sealed stainless-steel construction; continuity in form, fit, and function; and continuity in the installation and integration expectations associated with the established HDD Series.

For OEMs, the platform provides a path to pursue cost-down, localization, and supply-chain objectives without requiring a disruptive leap to a fundamentally different pump architecture. The result is a more flexible pump-platform strategy designed for the evolving global medical imaging market.

Important Application Considerations

NWP is a platform under development; configuration, performance, availability, and qualification requirements will vary by model and customer application.
 

• The targeted sales price reduction is 35% to 50%, subject to configuration, volume, and regional sourcing conditions.
• Customer validation remains necessary. NWP’s design continuity is intended to support a more manageable validation process, not to remove validation requirements.
• NWP is a distinct pump platform. Performance is defined by the published NWP specification for each model and should not be assumed identical to legacy HDD Series pumps.
• Final pump selection should be based on the specific hydraulic, electrical, mechanical, environmental, reliability, and regulatory requirements of the equipment application.
   

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the NWP pump platform?

NWP is a next-generation welded pump platform under development by Tark Thermal Solutions for medical imaging equipment. It is designed to improve global cost competitiveness, support regional manufacturing, and maintain key form, fit, function, and integration similarities with the established HDD Series.

What cost reduction is targeted for the NWP platform?

Depending on the pump model, configuration, order volume, and regional sourcing conditions, NWP targets a sales price reduction of 35% to 50%. The actual reduction will depend on the customer application and supply-chain model.

How does NWP support regional manufacturing?

The platform is designed for automated welding, qualified in-region supply options, and production aligned with regional demand. This can support shorter supply chains, lower tariff and logistics exposure, and faster response to regional OEM requirements.

Does NWP eliminate customer validation requirements?

No. Each NWP model and customer application requires its own qualification. Continuity with familiar HDD Series architecture and integration principles is intended to make validation more manageable than adopting a fundamentally different pump concept.

Why does NWP retain welded stainless steel construction?

The hermetically sealed, welded stainless-steel construction supports containment and system integrity in rotating-gantry and high-G medical imaging applications. It also preserves a construction approach familiar to OEM engineering teams.
For more information on the NWP platform, contact Adam Woodrey at Tark Thermal Solutions.