News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
It seems that cumbersome plaster casts could soon go the way of the dinosaurs thanks to new innovations in the medical field. 3D printing, for instance, is being increasingly exploited for the production of patient-specific casts and braces. ActivArmor, a producer of next-gen 3D printed medical devices, is taking its products to the next level with a partnership with LINE-X, a leader in protective coatings.
French med tech company BIOMODEX has opened a new corporate headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. The new facility, which will house corporate offices and a state-of-the-art 3D printing laboratory, signals BIOMODEX’s entry into the U.S. market.
NASA Nebraska Space Grant office provided funding to examine the development, validation, and mechanically characterization of antimicrobial 3D printed medical devices for astronauts. The objective is to test the antimicrobial properties of Copper3D’s PLACTIVE filament material on the International Space Station.
SafKan, a Tucson-based startup, has developed an innovative pair of 3D printed headphones—only they’re not for listening to music. The company, which was awarded Protolabs Cool Idea! award for its concept, has created a pair of medical headphones which can professionally clean a person’s ear in just 35 seconds.
The dental applications market is now increasingly seen as a key production market for 3D printing technologies and many feel that the paradigm shift will come to completion at this year’s IDS show in Koln. Several companies are gearing up, including ceramic 3D printer manufacturer Lithoz. The Austrian company will be presenting the new CeraFab 7500 Dental system at IDS next 12-16 March 2019.
axial3D, a UK-based medical 3D printing company is partnering with the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland to deliver advanced 3D printing solutions for improved patient care. Through the collaboration, the Swiss hospital will integrate axial3D’s cloud-based platform, axial3Dassure, into its 3D printing lab to improve its medical AM capabilities.
Additive Orthopaedics, a New Jersey-based producer of next-gen orthopaedic devices for the foot and ankle, has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Patient Specific 3D Printed Locking Lattice Plates. The recently approved 3D printed device is designated for the alignment, stabilization and fusion of fractures, osteotomies and arthrodesis of the foot, ankle or other small bones.
Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical, medical and consumer goods company that has been in operation for over a century, clearly understands what its target markets want. In the consumer goods arena, the company recently demonstrated just how well it is meeting these wants with the unveiling of its most personalized skincare product ever, the Neutrogena MaskiD. At the cutting edge of the beauty tech sector, the MaskiD combines Neutrogena Skin 360 technology with 3D printing to offer ultra-customized facial care.
Open Bionics, a UK-based company that develops low cost 3D printed bionic hands, has raised a whopping £4.66 million ($5.9 million) through a recent investment round. Investors include Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund, Downing Ventures, Ananda Impact Ventures and Rathbone Nominees.
Metal additive manufacturing processes are helping engineers to reinvent how parts are designed and produced. In the medical sector, orthopaedic implants are proving to be one of the key applications where metal AM is really having an impact, as the technology enables patient specific structures, as well as complex porous geometries which in turn allow for more lightweight implants.