Berretta Medical harnesses Materialise CO-AM for the additive manufacture of bespoke leg braces

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Berretta Medical Inc. (BMI) is leveraging Extol’s use of CO-AM and Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology, as well as Toolkit3D’s modelling software, to advance the manufacture of leg braces.

It has turned to 3D printing technology after previously utilising milling and moulding to manufacture its flagship products. But with Covid-19, labour shortages, increasing costs and the complexity and craftmanship require to create the braces, the company has recently redirected its focus.

BMI is a family-owned business with a team of just five people. Despite its modest staffing numbers, the company typically has demand for around 2,000 braces a year, though it can take one person an entire day to work on a single unit.

Established 15 years ago, Beretta Medical Inc. is a family-owned business whose mission is to be a leading manufacturer and distributor of orthopaedic products to the Canadian Sport Medicine and O&P markets. The company prides itself on the contribution it provides to the orthopaedic and prosthetic industry with our competitive pricing, custom business solutions and excellent customer service.

SOLUTION

As BMI began to explore alternative manufacturing techniques, it selected Extol as its qualified supplier and commenced work with Toolkit3D, an online software platform specialising in modelling and customisation. While BMI was entering new partnerships with both, Toolkit3D and Extol had collaborated during the pandemic in the development of 3D printed masks.

Using Toolkit3D’s Shapeshift 3D design engine, BMI was able to adopt a more straightforward, flexible design approach. Prior to the design, BMI would scan the patient, input the patient’s records and product parameters into the system, before manufacturing the customised brace with HP Multi Jet Fusion printers via Extol.

Although these steps are digitised, each workflow would be siloed if it wasn’t for Materialise’s CO-AM platform bringing them together in one platform.

“We’re still quite new to the world of 3D printing, but we knew that additive manufacturing and digital workflows would be ideal for us, practically and economically. We needed a solution that minimised risks, saved us time during the design and admin stages, and was easy for our employees to use. That’s why we chose Toolkit3D; it does all this and connects us to our supplier via the CO-AM platform. Now, we only need to use one solution, simplifying things for us and providing cost benefits.” – Nick Berretta, Business Development Lead and Owner of BMI.

Through this workflow, Toolkit3D handle the backend processes, such as product catalogue analysis, scanned data validation and order processing, while BMI leverage the company’s dedicated design engine to bring the products to life. Toolkit3D’s API seamlessly interfaces with the CO-AM platform used by Extol, creating a digital thread that connects the three companies.

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CO-AM’s API links different systems together in one platform, encompassing the factory, operating, manufacturing, and fulfilment systems. This ability to interface with mass personalised apps from other companies, the collaborators believe, will drive down costs, and therefore potentially increase the adoption rate of customised devices.

“CO-AM benefits BMI as they don’t need their own manufacturing execution system (MES), and Extol receives automated and encrypted files that are compliant.” – Edward Ponomarev, Chief Commercial Officer at Toolkit3D.

The benefits of using Toolkit3D’s Shapeshift design engine and Extol’s Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing capacity via the CO-AM platform include:

  • 5-10% cost savings
  • A design time per brace of 20-30 minutes
  • Up to 75% of required manual labour for the moving of files through workflows removed.

IMPACT

The integration with CO-AM to develop an additive manufacturing workflow for the development of bespoke leg braces is considered a solution that fulfils the need of all three companies.

BMI is now able to create models more quickly than before, while reducing waste material and minimising the chance of human error in the handling of thousands of files. Toolkit3D helps to streamline many siloed processes and connects them to a leading 3D printing supplier. And Extol can develop new business models by partnering with customers to manufacture mass-personalised products at scale.

“The most impactful way to accelerate the acceptance of mass personalisation in the O&P market is to reduce cost. It’s the third leg of the stool, as technical feasibility and use desirability have been proven. Business viability is the next challenge. Manually transferring data, entering orders, and tracking thousands of unique files is labour intensive, and doing it at scale is cost prohibitive. CO-AM and its API allow different islands of automation to connect, enabling an end-to-end digital process. And by being able to centralise our HP MJF 4200 printers in one platform, it helps us streamline our production capacity along with other work orders queued for production. That’s an important key to scaling patient-specific medical devices as it’s a simple solution that offers business viability.” – Kyle Harvey, Business Unit Manager – Additive Manufacturing at Extol.

With CO-AM’s ability to simplify workflows and enable a fully digital supply chain from scan to print, Materialise believes it has much to offer the O&P industry, especially as it aims to move closer to customised medical devices.