3D printed implant components for veterinarian practices.
Industrial finishing equipment specialist Guyson International has recently installed a combination of its finishing solutions at UK based medical startup Fusion Implants, for cleaning metal 3D printed canine implant parts used in veterinary procedures.
The modified Guyson Formula 1400 blast cabinet has been installed to provide the desired cosmetic finish to a range of ‘dynamic tension plates’, created with SLS from titanium powder. The Fusion TTA implant consists of a honeycombed wedge and dynamic tension plate used to repair cranial cruciate ligament damage in dogs.
Dr Dan Jones, General Manager of Fusion Implants said: "We needed the dynamic tension plates to have a uniform and aesthetic appearance as do the rest of the conventionally manufactured stainless steel instrumentation kit and glass bead blasting was the best process to achieve this”.
The modified Formula blast cabinet features a polyurethane bodied Guyson model 900 blast gun fitted with stainless steel airjets, a stainless steel cabinet floor, stainless steel hose coupling and a stainless steel media pick-up tube. This specification ensures that components are suitable for medical use and no ferrous contamination can enter the media flow whilst blasting the dynamic tension plate with Guyson’s inert Honite glass bead blast media.
After the glass bead blasting, both components are immersed in the Kerry MKC14 ultrasonic bath to remove any loose and residual titanium powder or remaining glass bead dust particles. The 3D printed medical implants are then transferred to a multi-stage cleaning and passivation line before final packaging.
Guyson’s microprocessor-controlled MKC baths allow the user to pre-set exact cleaning times and temperatures, ensuring the same high level of cleanliness every time. Digital control allows solution heating to be set from 20°C to 80°C in 1°C increments, so that the optimum temperature can be selected for a particular combination of component material, cleaning solution and contaminant. Process times from 6 seconds to 99.9 minutes can also be pre-programmed in 6 second increments.
These refined implants were developed in collaboration with the Schools of Engineering and of Veterinary Science at Liverpool University. They will be supplied to veterinarian surgeries to repair damage and improve mobility of injured dogs.
