News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Carbon’s developmental bioabsorbable elastomer platform has demonstrated biocompatibility in vivo, with all samples being designated as non-toxic and exhibiting tunable times for full absorption. This latest milestone indicates the elastomer’s potential future development in biomedical lattice applications such as soft tissue repair, wound dressings, and nerve conduits.
Lincotek, a leader in the production of metal medical devices via additive manufacturing, reported it has produced over 800,000 medical devices since the company started working with Additive Manufacturing in 2006. In recent years, the count has topped over 100,000 3D printed parts per year, with best-in-class yield rates, material consumption and per-unit costs.
Scientists from the Ural Federal University (UrFU) and the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences are determining the optimal conditions for 3D printing permanent magnets from hard magnetic compounds based on rare-earth metals. This will make it possible to start small-scale production of magnets, in any shape, and create complex magnet configurations. Such magnets are suitable for miniature electric motors and electric generators, on which pacemakers work. In addition to this, as is typical of AM, the technology minimizes production waste and has a shorter production cycle. A description of the method and experimental results are presented in the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials.
SprintRay Inc., an industry leader in digital dentistry and 3D printing solutions, has launched OnX Tough, a next-generation hybrid ceramic resin designed for 3D printing dental applications. Leveraging SprintRay’s proprietary NanoFusion technology, this new resin delivers durability and lifelike translucency for high-quality, same-day dental prosthetics.
Over the past few decades, there has been a growing focus in the healthcare industry on achieving better patient outcomes. This emphasis is increasing the popularity of personalized medical devices, which are designed to match the anatomy or physiology of each patient.
By adding process enhancements to its AM contract manufacturing workflow, Amnovis has expanded its potential for patient-specific and standard medical device innovation.
3D LifePrints, a UK-based medical 3D printing specialist, has received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for their EmbedMed personalized surgery platform.
Psyonic has developed a Bionic Hand using Formlabs’ additive manufacturing technology.
It may seem unexpected for breakthroughs in CT scanning technology to come from a dental laboratory. But foresight is exactly what California-based Glidewell dental lab is known for. In a manufacturing field that requires as much volume as it does precision, the dental lab has developed scanners that strike the right balance of affordability, speed, size and precision, allowing them to scale up at any time as the market demands without taking on financial risk. But why would a dental lab need computed tomography to optimize their production? At the beginning of the Industry 4.0 Revolution, Glidewell, the largest privately-owned dental laboratory in the U.S., initiated a unique workflow in which every case order submitted by dentists gets digitized via CT scanner and then perfected in a virtual environment. This proprietary system allows the production floor to churn out accurate dental products with fewer errors at a faster rate while applying AI-powered design software for greater precision and esthetics. However, they ran into a crucial problem: Finding a commercial CT scanner that could keep up with their high-volume workload. Glidewell’s digital workflow necessitated modern technology in a field dominated by an artisan-like workforce of technicians and designers. Their initial exploration in digital scanning started with optical scanners. But the optical scanners could not capture the finer details present in dental impressions, nor could they reliably capture the angles and curves of natural dentition. This made it difficult to consistently fabricate accurate products that were fit for consumer acceptance. Glidewell then tested multiple commercial scanners in order to find one that could meet their needs. But their experience with conventional industry scanners was one in the same: Breakdown after breakdown due to the constant cycling, expensive technology that stretched out their budget, and little room to scale up with the growing pace of the industry. “The vast majority of available scanners were intended for university and research institutes, not use in a manufacturing environment,” said Glidewell Senior Vice President of Engineering, David Leeson. “Because of this, in addition to the available machinery being expensive to procure, it was also expensive to operate.”
Nominations for the 2022 3D Printing Industry Awards are now open. Who do you think should make the shortlists for this year’s show? Let us know by casting your vote now.