ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Real-time use case studies of micro-AM
CASE STUDY ONE: INTRAOCULAR IMPLANT The fi rst example is a medical OEM customer making an intraocular implant that measures 1.6 x 2.9 x 0.7 mm. The customer was up against a looming FDA submission deadline. The part design included a small gap on one side of the part. While the rest of the part design was frozen, the customer needed to determine what size gap would be optimal for the part considering that in its fi nal assembly it would need to be accurately handled and safely implanted inside the eye.
Due to the micro size of this part, Accumold could print many samples using the Tera 250vx’s 50mm x 50mm x 100mm printing area. The company successfully printed multiple samples of six diff erent designs for the customer to test. This took less than 24 hours to design, print, post process, package, and ship out to the customer, which was able to complete their testing in about two weeks. Their tests proved one of the designs to be superior to all others, and this was the design the company froze and submitted for FDA approval. If Accumold had not been able to provide multiple
part iterations for testing at one time, the customer would have had to delay their FDA submission or choose a design without adequate test data. Once the customer was satisfi ed with its test performance, Accumold could start to design and build the production tool so that it could qualify the tool and scale up to meet production volumes.
CASE STUDY TWO: IMPLANT TIP Another of Accumold’s medical device clients needed to fi nalise an implant tip design measuring 1.5 x 3.0 x 2.5mm before the design freeze date. The customer needed a frozen design so that they could kick off
tooling and not push out their overall project timeline. Using the Tera 250vx, Accumold was able to print 16 diff erent tip designs for the customer to evaluate. A lot of parts could be built in the Tera 250vx print envelope, and the fi rst print included 10 samples of each of the 16 design iterations. It took less than 24 hours to design, print, post process, package, and ship the parts to the customer, which completed its testing in a few weeks and came back with six diff erent modifi ed designs for another round of testing. Accumold’s second print was turned around in around one day so the customer could quickly resume testing.
CASE STUDY THREE: VALVE ASSEMBLY A medical customer that was trying to fi nalise the design of a valve assembly measuring 9.0 x 9.0 x 10.7mm came to Accumold. This valve was comprised of a softer material over-moulded on top of a harder machined part. The valve needed to maintain a seal while being rotated within the fi nal assembly. Accumold’s fi rst round of samples was moulded with a TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) material. Testing found a few dimensions out, so the mould CAD models were updated, and new moulding inserts printed a day later. The second round of mould inserts worked better, but the TPE was too rigid when rotating it in the test assembly. The same printed inserts were used to mold parts in a TPV (thermoplastic vulcanizate) resin. The TPV parts performed better in the test assembly, but some leakage was observed. Sources of the leak were identifi ed, the CAD models were modifi ed, and another set of molds were printed. This fi nal set produced valves that could be easily rotated in the assembly and did not leak. From start to fi nish, Accumold was able to test three
diff erent printed mould designs and two materials in about two weeks. The customer was extremely pleased with the results.
SUMMARY: MICRO-AM’S TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT The success of these case studies underscores the pivotal role of Tera 250vx Micro-AM technology as a central enabler in the product development process. The technology brings the advantages of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to micro manufacturers, off ering unprecedented part complexity, minimal tooling costs, reduced set-up costs, mass customisation capabilities, and the ability to produce mold inserts within a day.
As a
versatile technology applicable to prototyping, small batches, and potentially mass manufacturing, the Tera 250vx is ushering in innovation in the micro manufacturing sector, fundamentally altering the economics of manufacturing. ●
The company off er a reinforced composite
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