Company insight
Micro 3D printing for small medical parts
Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) manufactures high-precision, micro 3D printers for diverse use cases that require the unique combination of excellence in three key areas: resolution, accuracy, and precision.
aleidoscope Innovation of Cincinnati, Ohio is a product design and development company that serves internationally recognised brands and innovative customers. When design engineer Olivia Enneking needed high- fidelity prototypes of small, precise medical parts, she asked a co-worker about Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF), which manufactures micro-precision 3D printers. Enneking’s colleague had worked with BMF before and liked how the inventors of projection micro stereolithography (PµSL) were able to rapidly produce microscale parts from biocompatible materials. The prototypes that Enneking needed
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didn’t require biocompatibility, but she wanted quick-turn microscale parts made from resins with properties comparable to polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polycarbonate (PC), and polypropylene (PP). These plastics are used commonly in
BMF are often pushing the limits on what is possible at the micro scale.
cost and lead time, and injection moulding can meet quality and cost. With BMF’s micro-precision 3D printing, we get all three,” says Enneking.
“When you look at ordering parts, there are three things to consider: quality, cost, and lead time. Other 3D printers can meet cost and lead time, and injection moulding can meet quality and cost. With BMF’s micro-precision 3D printing, we get all three.”
Olivia Enneking, Kaleidoscope Innovation
injection moulding – the process that will be used for end-part production. Micro injection moulding can see tooling costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, however, so it’s not a good choice for prototypes where design changes may result in scrapped tooling. CNC machining can also produce microscale parts but, like injection moulding, has longer lead times than 3D printing.
“When you look at ordering parts, there are three things to consider: quality, cost, and lead time. Other 3D printers can meet
The same great benefits Like other forms of 3D printing, BMF’s PµSL technology doesn’t require moulds or tools. However, PµSL is capable of achieving resolution of 2~10µm and tolerance of +/- 5~25µm and at faster speeds than other micro-fabrication methods. In addition, BMF has an open material system that allows customers to select BMF’s own specially formulated polymers or to choose resins from other suppliers. Jason Bassi, BMF’s director of sales for North America, became Enneking’s point-of-contact and, as
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
the design engineer explains, was “always willing to help out” with machine and material selection. “The same great benefits of using PµSL 3D printing are recognised as compared to traditional 3D printing, but we are often pushing the limits on what is possible at the micro scale and work closely with our customers to meet their requirements,” says Bassi. To produce Kaleidoscope International’s prototypes, BMF used each of its 10µm series printers: the microArch P140, the microArch S140, and the microArch S240. Because BMF shares material data sheets on its website, Enneking was able to evaluate different resins and compare their properties with PEEK, PC, and PP. Enneking liked having a selection of materials and identified three resins for usability testing. HEK resin, a rigid and tough material, provides strength and elongation. HTL resin is a high-performance engineering material that combines heat resistance with high strength and rigidity. UTL resin provides high toughness and elongation for applications that require high flexibility. ●
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