Medtech Electronics for Ireland from Hong Kong: With 450 Medtech Firms and Over 48,000 Jobs, a Single-Cell 4.2 V Wearable Rules Out All 41 Walsin 4 V Capacitors and Leaves 16 Class II Lines at 6.3 V on the Shelf

Medtech electronics for Ireland hit a trap at the battery rail. A single lithium cell charges to 4.2 V, which is above a 4 V capacitor. We counted Walsin’s MLCC export: all 41 parts at 4 V fall short, and at 6.3 V only 16 class II lines of 1 µF or more are on our Hong Kong shelf.

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Venatech Limited, an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong, wrote this for a design engineer or buyer at an Irish maker of handheld, wearable or patch-style medical devices powered by one lithium cell. We read the Walsin Technology (Walsin) MLCC export of 24,026 rows, 23,601 of them distinct part numbers, and our stock list as at 23 September 2026. Every part number below is real and every count is ours. We make no medical-device claim for any part. Where a market fact appears, it names its source and the day we read it.

How big is Irish medtech, and why does a component buyer care?

It is large enough that a small passive on a battery rail repeats across a lot of boards. Irish Medtech, part of Ibec, reported on 24 March 2025 that Ireland’s medtech sector spans 450 companies and employs more than 48,000 people, with jobs forecast to reach 56,000 by 2028. We read the release on 22 October 2026.

The same release says Ireland exports more than 16 billion euros of medtech products, and that smaller firms need more support to scale digital adoption. It does not mention any passive component.

Our view, labelled as ours: a sector this size makes battery-powered devices a normal design target, and the single-cell rail is where they all start. The release says nothing of the kind.

Which MLCC voltage rung does a single-cell 4.2 V device need?

The first rung above the cell’s full charge, with margin, and that is 6.3 V. We parsed the Rated Voltage field of all 23,601 distinct MLCC part numbers: 41 sit at 4 V, 373 at 6.3 V and 1,463 at 10 V. A lithium cell charges to 4.2 V, so every one of the 41 parts at 4 V is rated below the charge voltage.

The 4.2 V figure is our arithmetic for a common lithium-ion cell, and a cell that charges higher moves every number up, so read your cell datasheet. An 80% working limit, which is our assumption and not a rule, asks for 5.25 V of rating, and the first rung above that is 6.3 V. Your derating policy is your engineer’s decision.

We have not seen this counted anywhere: 29 of the 41 parts at 4 V are class II capacitors of 1 µF or more, and none of the 29 is on the shelf, so the rung looks like a fit on a drawing and fails on a battery. The 4 V parts include 0402X106M4R0, a 10 µF X5R in 0402, which is the part a layout would pick if it only read capacitance and case.

How many Walsin class II parts at 6.3 V reach 1 µF, 4.7 µF and 10 µF?

136 reach 1 µF, 84 reach 4.7 µF and 60 reach 10 µF, and the small cases thin out fast. We counted class II parts (X5R, X6S, X7R, X7S, X8R, X7T) at 6.3 V and 1 µF or more by case size: 4 in 0201, 24 in 0402, 30 in 0603, 32 in 0805, 30 in 1206 and 16 in 1210. Of the 136, 16 lines are stocked.

Case size	Class II, 6.3 V, 1 µF or more	Of those, 4.7 µF or more	10 µF or more	Largest value	Stocked lines
0201	4	0	0	2.2 µF	1
0402	24	7	4	22 µF	6
0603	30	13	6	47 µF	4
0805	32	22	15	100 µF	3
1206	30	26	19	220 µF	2
1210	16	16	16	220 µF	0

In 0402, 4 parts reach 10 µF at 6.3 V and 1 of them is stocked. In 0603, 6 reach 10 µF and 3 are stocked. A wearable that wants 10 µF in 0402 is choosing between four part numbers.

Which Walsin parts cross a 10 µF, 0402, 6.3 V bypass capacitor?

One matches outright, a second matches on value and voltage, neither is stocked, one stocked part exceeds the value, and the nearest drawing-fit fails on voltage. Say your board has a 10 µF, X5R, 0402, 6.3 V capacitor on a single-cell rail and you want to see what Walsin offers. These are the real parts nearest to it.

Walsin part	Series	Case	Dielectric	Capacitance	Rated voltage	Thickness (export)	On the shelf 23 September 2026	Match / mismatch (10 µF, X5R, 0402, 6.3 V)
0402X106M6R3	General Purpose	0402	X5R	10 µF, ±20%	6.3 V	0.50 ± 0.20 mm	No	Match on case, dielectric, value and voltage
0402S106M6R3	General Purpose	0402	X6S	10 µF, ±20%	6.3 V	0.50 ± 0.20 mm	No	Match on value and voltage; mismatch on dielectric
0402X226M6R3	General Purpose	0402	X5R	22 µF, ±20%	6.3 V	0.50 ± 0.20 mm	Yes	Mismatch: more than double the value; match on case and voltage
0603X106K6R3	General Purpose	0603	X5R	10 µF, ±10%	6.3 V	0.80 ± 0.20 mm	Yes	Mismatch on case; match on value and voltage
0402X106M4R0	General Purpose	0402	X5R	10 µF, ±20%	4 V	0.50 ± 0.20 mm	No	Mismatch on voltage: rated below a 4.2 V charge

The export carries no DC-bias column, and the only DC-bias chart we found in our 28 Walsin documents is a generic one in the full catalogue, not a per-part curve. A 10 µF part loses capacitance under bias, and how much is for your engineer to read from Walsin’s datasheet for the exact part. Our post on MLCC DC bias and voltage derating shows how to read it, and the shelf life, storage and handling post covers reels held in stock.

What do we hold in the way of medical documentation?

Little, and we say so. We hold 28 Walsin datasheets, 451 pages, and the word medical appears in none of the 28. We hold no ISO 13485 certificate and no ISO 9001 certificate.

A part on this list is not a qualified medical component by being listed, and we make no biocompatibility, sterilisation or implant claim for any part. We offer the datasheet, lot and date-code traceability and a certificate of conformity per shipment on request. Qualification stays with you, and so does the decision on what your regulator expects of your supplier.

How can Venatech help an Irish medtech maker?

By crossing the capacitor you have already chosen, stating the differences, and telling you what is missing. Venatech Limited is an authorised Walsin distributor in Hong Kong. Walsin is our only authorised line, and the other lines we supply are Stackpole and Viking.

• Cross-reference. Paste your incumbent number into the free cross-reference tool, which decodes 18 manufacturers’ part numbers across 800,000+ crossable parts, and read each Walsin candidate with match and mismatch stated field by field.
• BOM check. Upload a device bill of materials to /bom/ and have each line checked against the same engine.
• Ready stock. The ready stock list is a Hong Kong snapshot dated 23 September 2026, never live-synced.
• Service. Hong Kong-based, small lots, cross-referencing help, and a quote requested through the site. Our address is Unit 207, 2/F, Sun Ling Plaza, 30 On Kui Street, Fanling, N.T., Hong Kong, telephone (852) 2628 4777.

A worked example from our own export: a 10 µF, X5R, 0402, 6.3 V capacitor on a 4.2 V rail maps to 0402X106M6R3, which is not stocked, while the stocked 0402X226M6R3 is a 22 µF mismatch. Our MLCC range lists the families. Confirm against both datasheets and qualify in your own circuit.

The short version

Irish Medtech reported 450 companies and over 48,000 jobs in March 2025. On a single-cell 4.2 V rail, all 41 Walsin parts at 4 V are rated too low, and at 6.3 V there are 136 class II parts of 1 µF or more, 16 of them stocked. In 0402, 4 parts reach 10 µF and 1 is stocked.

Send us the bypass and bulk capacitors from one wearable board and we will return the Walsin parts with the differences stated. When the cell chemistry changes, which part on your board notices first?

Sources

Fetched 22 October 2026. The market statements above are taken from this page; the part data comes from our own Walsin export and stock list.

• Irish Medtech (Ibec), “Irish Medtech Manufacturing Report Highlights Need for Investment in Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Adoption”, 24 March 2025: https://www.ibec.ie/connect-and-learn/media/2025/03/24/irish-medtech-manufacturing-report-highlights-need-for-investment-in-manufacturing

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Frequently asked questions

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