Additive Manufacturing

FEB 2014

Modern Machine Shop and MoldMaking Technology present ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, a quarterly supplement reporting on the use of additive processes to manufacture functional parts. More at additivemanufacturinginsight.com.

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By Peter Zelinski F E AT U R E Reimagining Implants A medical-industry contract manufacturer that built its reputation on CNC machining is now helping its customers realize the advantages of additive manufacturing. onald Dunn, vice president of medicalindustry contract manufacturer DiSanto Technology, says the photo on this page illustrates the future of spinal cage implants. The part shown is actually a scaled-up model DiSanto uses to illustrate this design to medical device companies. Surgeons and other medicalindustry professionals who are knowledgeable about spinal surgery look at this model and immediately appreciate the beneft: bone ingrowth. A spinal cage implant essentially serves as a spacer between adjacent vertebrae that are fused together during spinal surgery. The part is usually machined, whether from a plastic (PEEK) R 4— AM Supplement or from a titanium alloy. Because it is machined, the part is typically dense and solid. This new design is self-evidently better, Dunn says. Because the part's mesh allows the patient's bone to grow into it, the body accepts this implant such that the ft improves over time. Few would contest the value of this ingrowth, he says. It's just that machining has never offered a way to create this mesh geometry. The mesh seen here was possible because this part, instead of being machined, was produced through additive manufacturing. The part was grown in successive layers on an electron beam melting (EBM) machine from Arcam.

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