Additive Manufacturing for Medical Applications
Metal 3D Printed Orthopedic Implants
Additive Manufacturing AM allows for geometric complexity to create lattice structures for medical implants. The addition of different lattice structures not only reduces the weight of the implant but also creates a porous surface that can integrate into the human body improving bone integration. This is called osseointegration and is not easily accomplished with standard manufacturing practices today. For traditional manufacturing, to achieve osseointegration it may be necessary to apply a coating to the titanium, which is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to validate. Additionally, AM reduces the manufacturing steps and the number of components, therefore cutting down production times and costs.
Patient-Specific 3D Printed Implants
Some medical devices are specifically tuned to the patient’s specific needs. These devices or implants used during surgery can be customized but require extensive development time and that is not always to the patient’s advantage. Additive Manufacturing (AM) makes it possible to produce unique, customized metal parts in a short time and at a reasonable price. There are more than 25,000 implants used each year that are the result of 3D printing.
Maximizing Productivity with the FormUp 350
AddUp’s History and Proven Performance
The FormUp 350 machine was designed based on Michelin’s early adoption of metal additive manufacturing to reduce the development cycle for their tire mold inserts, called sipes. The challenge was not the technology but rather the consistency and throughput in a high-demand manufacturing environment. Developed by a manufacturer for manufacturers, the FormUp 350 machine has been fine tuned to deliver high productivity. Today, Michelin uses the FormUp 350 to produce over one million of these sipes a year for their production molds.
AddUp’s History and Proven Performance
The FormUp 350 machine was designed based on Michelin’s early adoption of metal additive manufacturing to reduce the development cycle for their tire mold inserts, called sipes. The challenge was not the technology but rather the consistency and throughput in a high-demand manufacturing environment. Developed by a manufacturer for manufacturers, the FormUp 350 machine has been fine tuned to deliver high productivity. Today, Michelin uses the FormUp 350 to produce over one million of these sipes a year for their production molds.
Increased Throughput for Medical Implants
The FormUp 350 machine is ideal for medical applications because it provides an improved and cost-effective process to mass-manufacture highly complex and/or customized medical parts.
- Geometric complexity: the AddUp FormUp 350 offers the freedom to design implants to be geometrically optimized using lattice structures and overhangs, all with minimal support structures.
- Reduction in support structures: with the AddUp FormUp 350, extensive support structures are no longer required, resulting in less post-processing machining, and therefore saving time and costs!
- Optimal surface finish: thanks to the powder roller technology on the FormUp 350, the surface finish is ideal directly off the printer, resulting in less post-processing time and costs!
- Meet demand with flexibility: The use of a large build plate (350 x 350 mm) with a quick loading and leveling system avoids any loss of useful surface. Four (4) 500-watt lasers are used, each one with the ability to cover the entire surface of the build plate. The advantage for the user is great flexibility in the placement of the parts on the platform and in the assignment of the lasers (one or more based on need) to the parts to be manufactured.
- Biocompatible materials: the FormUp 350 allows a variety of different materials to be used and has already optimized Ti64ELI at both 30 and 60-micron layers.
Built to maximize throughput in a production setting, the FormUp 350 optimizes the entire manufacturing process. Downtime is minimized before the build commences, optimized during the build, and in the post-production steps. The build setup is streamlined with automated build plate leveling and referencing. Inerting times are short as well. Oxygen levels reach 500 ppm in 15 minutes. During the build itself, the bidirectional powder spreading system is 40% faster than the conventional method. Each of the four lasers works in unison over the entire build area to melt material as efficiently as possible. When the build finishes, the active cooling system kicks in to bring the heated platform down to a suitable temperature. That cooling allows for an earlier start of powder vacuuming, which is performed in the inert chamber through a glovebox. An additional benefit is the ability to supply new powder to the system and powder sample acquisition can happen without interrupting production.
Hear it from our Experienced Application Engineers
Finding a solution that can cut manufacturing time from days down to hours is key. Hear from an AddUp Expert on how the FormUp 350 provides a unique solution to manufacturers looking to maximize quality, consistency, and ROI.
Key Medical Applications
A challenge for medical implants is achieving the level of throughput needed when sizes are large, and shapes are varied. Throughput is such an integral part of manufacturing today. When space is limited and need is high, AM machines with larger build plates and multiple lasers provide the ability to meet industry demand. The FormUp 350 is a 4-laser system with a 350mmX350mm build plate and a powder module to reduce powder handling time. These features provide high productivity, saving time and overall production costs resulting in an improved process to mass-manufacture highly complex and/or customized medical parts.
Read more about some of AddUp’s most successful medical applications below.
AddUp Monitoring Solutions
A monitored process for complete control over the traceability and safety for Medical Devices
Within the medical industry, the qualification and regulation of implants and devices is mandatory. Quality assurance software is a game changer within this industry because additive manufacturing requires such rigorous testing and inspections which are often expensive and lengthy, impacting lead time and productivity. AddUp is leading the way with process monitoring, providing confidence in the quality of parts with a full suite of quality assurance monitoring software to lessen, or even eliminate, the need for rigorous testing after a part is printed. From part preparation to simulation, monitoring, and production, every link of the AddUp digital chain offers a high level of performance with user-friendly software.
AddUp Dashboards, in-process monitoring software
AddUp Dashboards is an in-process monitoring software that collects all production data in real-time and presents it as dashboards tailored to the needs of different users.
Fully configurable, and capable of emitting different alarms, AddUp Dashboards will help you improve the efficiency of your manufacturing, conduct analysis in case of defects on a part, and monitor a workshop composed of several machines.
Recoating Monitoring
The layering phase is a key step in metal parts production based on L-PBF technology. Any defects can cause melting problems or lead to a production interruption.
One of the key elements in the Monitoring AddUp offer is the analysis of the quality of the layering which can proactively corrects faults during production.
Operating on a closed-loop principle, this analysis during production checks the homogeneity of the powder bed, revealing the possible presence of deposits or lack of powder. The algorithms developed by AddUp allow users to assign a score and trigger a correction sequence when necessary.
Meltpool Monitoring
FormUp 350 New Generation’s monitoring capabilities are impressive! The most advanced solution in AddUp’s Monitoring Suite provides visibility of printing execution at the microscopic scale. Several parameters are measured at very high frequency, such as the position of the laser spot, the power actually delivered and the emissivity of the melt pool. This data is available in real time.
This system makes it possible to characterize any defects without destroying the part, which is beneficial for unique one-off builds. And in the case of mass production, it can be used to create a footprint to serve as a point of comparison for all future production builds.
AddUp Manager™, manufacturing preparation software
With AddUp Manager manufacturing preparation software, take control of all machine parameters. Whether you are looking for maximum productivity, metallurgical or geometric quality, or whether you want to develop a recipe for a new material, AddUp Manager gives you complete freedom in your machine adjustment choices.
Quality Assurance
In the medical device industry, safety and quality are crucial. ISO 13485:2016 is the medical industry’s standard, ensuring that all medical devices meet compliance laws and customer needs. AddUp is fully committed to providing safe and effective machines and parts. Our ISO 13485 certification allows AddUp to provide dependable, reliable service with:
- The implementation of an enhanced Quality Management System
- Consistency of production and delivery of medical devices
- Compliance with medical products and service regulations
- Increased efficiency and cost savings
- Improved risk management
Materials used for 3D printed implants
Among the many materials available on FormUp 350 machines, AddUp offers recipes to create parts using Ti64ELI (Extra Low Intersticial titanium).
This grade of titanium is commonly used by manufacturers of surgical implants and prostheses. In addition to its biocompatibility, Ti64ELI is non-magnetic and has very high mechanical characteristics.
