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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F E AT U R E are considerable. Owing to with multiple suppliers that additive the need for forging tooling, manufacturing neatly addressed. One a newly designed hip stem involved the porous surface for bone in the past would have integration on implants. Historically, required a lead time of at this surface has been added through least eight weeks, but with plasma spray coating. DiSanto's additive manufacturing, that source for that coating had recently same newly designed hip been purchased by a competitor. stem can be manufactured Meanwhile, DiSanto's supplier within 48 hours. for castings had begun to demand Effciencies such as aggressive 15-day payment terms. these are suffcient to justify "Manufacturing is all about cash fow," additive production, Dunn Dunn says. says. However, these savAdditive manufacturing provided ings are just the beginning. welcome relief in both situations. The The still-greater beneft to additive process makes plasma spray DiSanto's customers is the unnecessary, because the 3D printed design freedom additive part can have the porous layer just manufacturing gives them. printed into the design. Also, additive They can now design their manufacturing makes casting unown precisely controlled necessary, since this part-generating bone integration geometry technology is essentially a foundry in instead of just accepting a box. the random surface geDunn says, "They say additive ometry of a plasma spray. manufacturing machines are exThis is huge. Then there is pensive, but I don't see the most important beneft it. The cost of these of all: An additive-manumachines is easy factured implant is likely to for us to balance function better within the against the Here is the perfect patient's body. supplier-related example of a part that The reason for this also costs we no could only be produced relates to dimensional conlonger have to through additive manutrol. Plasma spray is such pay." facturing. This hollow The sutitanium sphere has a wall an imprecise process that thickness of 1 mm. Ronald bone reamers in surgery preme example Dunn demonstrates the strength are oversized because of it, of this might be the of this structure by standing on it. Dunn explains. The reamer elimination of forgings. An produces an oversized implanted titanium hip stem might come cavity in the bone to accommodate the uncertain in 20 different sizes, requiring 20 different forging dimensions of the sprayed part. By contrast, with tools at more than $7,000 per tool. With additive additive manufacturing providing control over manufacturing, all of that tooling expense is gone. geometry, the reamer can now be right-sized. In fact, representatives of the 20 different part The implant can therefore press-ft into the bone. numbers can all be built within the same cycle, Surface contact between implant and bone is exas needed, simply by nesting the different parts tensive, rather than merely occurring at a few high within a single EBM build. The time savings in this 6— AM Supplement

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