 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
1 October 2007 Forum Focuses on Rapid Manufacturing
The first Rapid Implant Manufacturing Forum, organized by prototyping specialist Materialise N.V. in collaboration with EOS GmbH, took place in Leuven, Belgium, the headquarters of Materialise, on September 12. The forum provided a platform for discussion of the latest trends in implant development and production using laminar manufacturing technologies such as laser-sintering. More than 60 people from 16 countries heard lectures highlighting the ways additive-layer manufacturing technologies are used today in the medical implant industry. Forum attendees represented manufacturers of the various technologies and their users. The symposium outlined the advantages that additive-layer technologies offer the implant industry, specifically, reductions in the length of operations and of patient discomfort, freedom of design, and functional integration in the development process for devices and implants, as well as shortened lead times. Peter Ostiguy from DePuy Spine impressed the audience with a presentation on the use of the direct metal laser-sintering (DMLS) technology from EOS. Using the technology only since February 2007, DePuy has produced more than 1,200 parts already. The parts are mainly used for evaluation and as sales samples so far, but “we see a large potential in the surgical arena,” said Ostiguy. The DMLS technology changed the way his company design its components, Ostiguy noted. “In the past, we designed for manufacturability. Now, with laser-sintering, we can design for functionality.” Using DMLS, DePuy has reduced lead times in some projects by up to 50%, even when product iterations are necessary. DePuy predicts a wider use of DMLS-manufactured instruments in operating theatres once the new, hardenable material StainlessSteel PH1 is commercially launched by EOS. Other conference speakers reported on the use of laser-sintered devices in surgical operations, and on applications such as acetabular cups and knee implants in EOS CobaltChrome MP1. The Italian company ProtoCast developed a new manufacturing process for acetabular cups that already have CE certification. Martin Bullemer, key account manager at EOS, was delighted to have learned so much more about the latest developments made possible by his company’s technology area of focus. “I am confident that the industry is heading even more toward rapid manufacturing, or e-manufacturing as we put it, within the next one to two years,” he said. For further information: EOS GmbH
|
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
| Tool-Moldmaking.com |
|||||||||||
