FloSonix head lice treatment Stratasys Origin
Stratasys’ Origin One 3D printing platform has been leveraged to design and produce a new head lice treatment device at a reduced cost.
Enventys Partners, a product launch agency, has used Origin’s Programmable PhotoPolymerization (P3) technology to prototype and manufacture the end-use product, which has a projected demand of between 200-300 units a year.
The head lice treatment device is being marketed by FloSonix Ventures and promises a ‘better user experience with improved ergonomics’ for technicians. FloSonix and Enventys turned to 3D printing because the costs associated with tooling and injection moulding for the device, which is made up of a range of plastic components, proved too costly.
In 3D printing the device, Henkel’s portfolio of Loctite 3D printing resins was utilised, with Loctite 3D 3843, IND403 and MED413 matching FloSonix’s requirements for toughness, temperature and colour, while also providing high part dimensional stability and exceptional surface finish. A final sterilisable material has also allowed FloSonix to provide reusable tips instead of one-time-use consumables.
Other benefits to using 3D printing have included increases in design freedom and control over the entire process. With injection moulding, more parts would have been required to produce the part, and likely several different suppliers too. Solely using the Origin One platform to design, test and produce the device is said to have given Enventys and FloSonix a confidence in the parts and the ability to pursue ‘design solutions that require tuning and refinement.’
“The Origin One 3D printer allowed us to make several initial options for our client to choose from and then make tiny tweaks almost in real-time without delaying the project of incurring huge expenses,” commented TJ Root, Senior Design Engineer for Enventys Partners. “By prototyping on the same machine that will make the final parts, we had extreme confidence in every piece we were making.”
“Enventys Partners’ approach to this application is incredibly innovative and an ideal process for any brand taking a complex mid-volume product to market quickly and economically,” added Christopher Prucha, co-founder and head of the Origin team at Stratasys. “By using an additive first approach; combining parts, designing custom textures and taking advantage of Origin One’s material selection and final part quality, they’ve created a playbook for product development using additive manufacturing.”
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