TCT Breaking News
EOS and Ruetschi Technology AG have announced the formation of a strategic partnership to further develop the European medical technology market, at Medtech 2013 in Stuttgart. This cooperation concentrates the innovative know-how of the two companies in the best way possible. The joint objective is to identify further possible uses for additive manufacturing in medical technology and to establish this manufacturing method permanently in the medical branch.
Dr. Adrian Keppler, managing director at EOS, emphasised: “Ruetschi Technology and EOS are well matched. Ruetschi's core competence is the development and production of technically sophisticated, high-quality micromechanical products for medical technology. They have the special skill of implementing customer ideas into leading high-tech products and cover the whole value creation chain – from engineering and prototyping through validation and production to assembly and packaging.”
Christoph Ruetschi, CEO at Ruetschi Technology AG, added: “With EOS we have found a partner with long years of experience in the field of additive manufacturing, system and material development who offers a pioneering technology solution which is heralding a change in paradigms in engineering, design and manufacturing. The method opens up new opportunities for design engineers in the medical branch who have so far only used subtractive, conventional methods and are increasingly coming up against feasibility limits. On the other hand, this technology supplements traditional manufacturing methods such as turning, milling and injection moulding. This allows our customers to purchase validated products from a single source, whether they have been manufactured conventionally or additively.”
Both companies agree that the whole medical branch can benefit from this strategic partnership. With the additive manufacturing method, manufacturers of medical products have a high-quality, extremely flexible manufacturing method at their disposal, which allows them to break new ground in product development and manufacture completely new components, products and solutions. The advantage for major suppliers of medical technology products is that Ruetschi Technology not only takes over part production using laser-sintering for them, but can provide extensive and competent support throughout the application development process from design through to finishing treatment and sterilisation.