Linde/ 3D Medlab
Linde 3D Medlab
Linde and 3D Medlab have announced a research partnership that will explore how atmospheric conditions in the additive manufacturing process can be optimised to produce complex latticed structures in medical devices.
The research is being conducted because of a joint confidence that lattice structures will be key in future medical device development thanks to their ability to better assimilate into the patient’s bone and tissue structure. This not only helps to reduce rejections, but also speed up healing times.
While additive manufacturing technology has the capabilities to facilitate the integration of those lattice structures, the partners recognise the importance of optimal and reproducible atmosphere within the 3D printing build chamber. Impurities within the build chamber can damage parts as they build, meaning additional post-processing may be required, or worse, the part may be totally unusable. Since Linde and 3D Medlab are using Ti-6AI-4V titanium alloy in their research programme, they also need to be weary of variants in the oxygen content.
Through a number of trial prints, a new helium/argon gas mixture, developed by Linde with the intention of making printing processes smoother and cleaner, will be used alongside the gas specialist’s ADDvance O2 precision measuring and analysis technology. 3D Medlab will use this technology to achieve a greater level of control over the oxygen concentration and humidity levels in the print chamber and, the partners hope, yield higher quality 3D printed medical devices.
The companies began working together in a customer/ supplier capacity, with 3D Medlab harnessing the ADDvance powder cabinet to retain the quality of sensitive metal powders. They have since decided to pool their respective expertise in a bid to improve the quality of additively manufactured medical parts, first with a titanium alloy and next with a nickel titanium material.
“We are proud to be collaborating with 3D Medlab on this important and forward-looking project,” commented Pierre Forêt, Senior Expert Manufacturing at Linde. “As a customer at the forefront of medical device manufacturing, anything less than optimal product outcomes is critically important to avoid, so it is testament to our gases expertise and know-how that we have been selected to partner in this endeavour.”
“Our experience with Linde shows that they are as committed to the same high standards of precision and excellence in additive manufacturing that we are,” said Gaël Volpi, CEO at 3D Medlab. “Full regulatory compliance is a fundamental cornerstone in our engineering and design process and our customers trust us to ensure all proper measures and controls are in place.”
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