ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
MEDICAL MIRACLES
Gemma Church finds that additive manufacturing is being used to transform lives through advanced implants and guides for surgeons
C
ompared to other industries, the medical sector could be considered established in its use of additive techniques. Stephan Zeidler, business development manager for
Concept Laser's medical division, said: ‘Te medical sector is a mature industry that is driving additive manufacturing in other industries. Te goal now is to increase the productivity and to make 3D printing machines more productive to compete with traditional manufacturing.’ Te constraints of additive manufacturing
have typically centred on productivity versus cost of investment. From a laser systems perspective, there are two methods to improve the throughput of additive techniques. Te first is to increase both the number of lasers and their individual operating power within a system to produce a faster machine. For example, to address productivity,
Renishaw has implemented a quad laser system on its RenAM 500Q, where each of the four lasers can address any area of the plate. Ed Littlewood, marketing manager of medical products at Renishaw, explained: ‘Once we have optimised this for medical applications, it will certainly drive the move towards higher volume production using AM.’ It’s not just the number and power of the lasers
that are changing; 3D printing systems need to integrate more components to meet medical regulations, as Lars Neumann, industry and application manager for medical AM at Trumpf, explained: ‘Te medical device industry is subject to the highest quality requirements. Regulatory bodies require stringent process control and full
10 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 38 • SPRING 2018 Renishaw’s Adept software is for healthcare professionals designing maxillofacial implants
documentation of the complete manufacturing process. As a machine manufacturer and laser specialist, we must design our 3D printing systems, such as our TruPrint, which addresses medical applications, accordingly. ‘For example, equipping our machines with
sensors and cameras to monitor and document the production process is becoming an essential requirement. Our customers need to know as early as possible if an implant is not manufactured according to specification, and they need to prove to the regulatory bodies that they will detect any irregularities in the process,’ Neumann added. Te second method to boost productivity is to
create a modular production line, which can be customised to meet the specific needs of the customer. For example, a post-processing machine may only take one hour to complete its work compared to a manufacturing machine that takes six hours to finish a job. So, by incorporating more manufacturing machines, it is possible to optimise the production line.
Zeidler said: ‘A modular production line also
enables serial production. Te dental industry is probably the best example for the mass production of patient-specific medical devices and has been using this technique for some time to create more than three million parts per year.’ Monitoring modular production lines presents
challenges, as multiple machines have to be managed. Zeidler added: ‘We need to be open to redesigning our manufacturing processes and enable customers to use machines more intuitively. An intuitive user interface can help to overcome the constantly rising demand for highly-skilled operators.’ Tis prevailing skills gap is a pertinent point,
as Littlewood explained: ‘Perhaps the biggest challenge is that additive manufacturing and powder-based fusion are relatively new. Tere’s no doubt that adoption of AM is strong, but we, as engineers, are yet to build up the massive knowledge base that subtractive manufacturing enjoys. Tis means that production and manufacturing engineers can have around 140
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