UNIVERSAL WINDING MACHINE FOR A MULTITUDE OF TRAY DESIGNS

A machine (14) for winding sutures into a suture tray package comprises a base platform (40), a plurality of package nests, a first workstation (50) for placing an empty tray onto one of the package nests, a further workstation (60) for feeding a needle with an attached suture in the tray and parking said needle in the tray, a winding station (90) for winding the suture into a winding channel of the tray, a lid placement station (110) for placing a lid onto one of the package nests, a lid attachment station (112) for attaching the lid to the tray, and an offloading station (114) for removing said trays from the package nests. The further workstation (60) for feeding a needle in the tray and parking said needle in the tray comprises two tweezer grippers, at least one of said tweezer grippers having a V or U shaped notch, said V or U shaped notch being located at the inside of the notched tweezer gripper facing the second tweezer gripper.