3D Printing Directly In The Operating Room

2023 Author : Hannah Pearcy | [email protected] . Last modified: 2023-11-26 11:39

Additive manufacturing of implants directly in the operating room? So far, entry barriers for 3D printing in hospitals have been high. The Munich start-up Kumovis is now changing that. With the 3D printer R1 you have developed a solution that brings 3D printing directly into the operating room. What is special about the 3D printer: With the integrated temperature control and filter system , users can turn the installation space into a clean room and meet the strict criteria for the approval of patient-specific medical products.

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The temperature management system in the 3D printer enables the installation space to be heated homogeneously up to 250 degrees Celsius , which among other things improves the layer consistency of the respective medical device.

With the filter system, the installation space becomes a clean room. Defects caused by foreign bodies in the component can be avoided. All systems for comprehensive monitoring are integrated, so documentation and security are guaranteed during the entire printing process.

The 3D printer is based on the fused-layer manufacturing process and can process almost all thermoplastics from PLA to PEEK. "In addition, with partners such as Hyperganic's software experts, we will in future be able to quickly access individual implants and devices that will help create added value for patients and doctors," says co-founder Stefan Leonhardt.

Briefly explained: Fused Layer Manufacturing

Fused layer manufacturing is often referred to as fused deposition modeling and was developed by S. Scott Crump , founder of Stratasys, in the late 1980s and used commercially in the 1990s. In the " enamel layer" process , a grid of dots is first applied to a surface, similar to a normal printer. The points are created by the wire-shaped plastic or wax material being liquefied by heating, a nozzle applies it by extrusion and hardens by cooling at the desired position in a grid on the working level. A working level is repeatedly traversed line by line and then the working level is 'stacked' upwards so that a shape is created in layers . Depending on the application, the layer thicknesses are between 0.025 and 1.25 mm. Solid and hollow bodies can be manufactured.

Customize processes

In order to make the implants more precise, local cooling is used in the Kumovis R1, which is managed by the company's own hardware and software from Hyperganic Technologies AG. The software-based print control Hyperganic Print enables you to optimize prints across the entire component. The user interface is designed in such a way that processes can be adapted and automated for specific users . At this year's Rapid Tech 3D, Martin Herzmann, Business Development Manager of the Munich start-up, is presenting the new system for processing high-performance and bioresorbable plastics.

Rapid. Tech 3D

Rapid. Tech + FabCon 3. D becomes Rapid. Tech 3D. The oldest German congress fair for additive technologies will take place under the new name from May 5th to 7th, 2020 in the Erfurt exhibition center. The focus of the trade fair is the status and progress of rapid prototyping through to the implementation of end products with the help of additive manufacturing and the entry of technology into series production. The user conference with accompanying trade fair also offers a platform for the exchange of knowledge between researchers, developers, designers and users.

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