Recently, the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany said that the current 3D printing technology can print a variety of medical devices, and it is likely to be commercialized in the future.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have developed a very flexible 3D printing method that can be used to make almost any imaginable medical device design, such as bone implants, dentures, surgical tools or microreactors, as needed. . Scientists will present their findings at the Medtec Medical Technology Trade Show in Stuttgart.
By cutting a 3D printed ceramic microreactor you can see that complex piping and fluid connections are printed with the entire part. The small pharmaceutical factory, which was placed beside the patient's bed, did not have a two-dollar coin. The lines and pipes were only a few hundred microns wide, and it was constantly mixing various drugs – painkillers, blood thinners and antibiotics – Fine-tuning based on the patient's current health status. This is the future application of microreactor technology, which is not yet available in hospitals. But the technology being developed by the Fraunhofer Institute of Ceramic Technology and SystemsIKTS is expected to become a reality in the near future.
Today, researchers from Dresden are working on a suspension-based additive manufacturing method that, if combined with its additive manufacturing technology, can create more than just microreactors, including bone implants. Things, dentures and surgical tools. “When manufacturing the target, we have no restrictions on the type and color of the material. This allows us to use thermoplastic 3D printing technology to process materials such as ceramics, glass, plastic and even metal. Another advantage is that several different prints can be printed simultaneously. Materials," said TassiloMoritz from the Fraunhofer IKTS Materials and Process Division. In the laboratory, scientists have successfully fabricated parts from high-performance ceramics and hard metals. Now they are looking for partners who want to commercialize their technology.
It is reported that the key to the development of this technology by researchers is the preparation of optimized ceramic or metal suspensions. This mixture relies primarily on a thermoplastic binder that becomes liquid at about 80 degrees Celsius. This is a critical attribute which means that the suspension can be cooled quickly and deposited sequentially in layers. Moreover, in the adhesive, they are uniformly doped with metal, glass or ceramic powder. “Our mixture is very uniform, and we can precisely set the optimum level of viscosity to print droplets that are sized to fit the contours of a particular part. In short, our mixture should not be too thin or too thick. To achieve this The goal, we must master the corresponding preparation process," Moritz said. The printer melts the mixture at high temperatures, and once the droplets are deposited, they cool and harden. Its print objects are built point by point on a platform. This allows different materials to be deposited simultaneously through multiple application units.
“Another challenge is how to adjust the behavior of the different suspensions during the subsequent sintering process to prevent any defects,†Moritz said. “To achieve this, we have optimized the powder through a special grinding process. During the process, fine-grained ceramic or metal materials are heated under pressure, and the temperature is not very high, and the structure of the object does not change.
Moritz hopes that this technology will enable microreactors based on ceramic prototypes. So far, manufacturing technology has become a major obstacle to preventing breakthroughs in microreactors. The techniques used by researchers in the past are often only available in the laboratory. This situation may change now. “So far, most ceramic microreactors have been cut from sheet metal, and the internal and external seals and the seamless connection of the various components have been a major challenge for this technology. If 3D printing is used, These problems will no longer exist," Moritz said.
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