EOS and IMDS partner to offer medical products via Additive Manufacturing
October 3, 2012
With support from laser-sintering equipment supplier EOS, U.S. based Innovative Medical Device Solutions (IMDS) can now offer customers, including orthopaedic and spine surgeons and implant companies, extensive product development resources for creating novel metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) designs.
The EOSINT M 280 produces metal parts directly
from three-dimensional CAD data
IMDS specialises in partnering with medical device customers to develop and produce new implant and instrument systems. The company has recently added the latest-generation EOSINT M 280 direct metal laser-sintering system, supplied by EOS, to its product development and manufacturing capabilities.
“Until now, using AM for medical devices was considered a high-technology novelty done on a few implants, but mainly used to make quick metal prototypes,” stated Dan Justin, Chief Technology Officer for IMDS. “However, recent advances, such as increased materials choices, enhanced manufacturing precision, and faster build speeds, have made medical product developers worldwide more willing to co-invest in developing implants made by laser-sintering systems. This partnership marks the most comprehensive resource alignment between contract medical device development and metal additive manufacturing expertise available to our industry.”
EOS offers decades of experience designing and manufacturing laser-sintering systems that can create high-quality prototypes and end-use parts. The collaboration with EOS will allow IMDS to manufacture products with patient-benefiting features that are only made possible with the use of AM technology.
Medical product developers
In response to requests by major medical product developers, EOS and IMDS have begun investigating partnerships with leading companies to bring out products that could only have been imagined previously.
“Our laser-sintering technology has opened up a door for developers who have formerly focused on subtractive processes,” stated Andrew Snow, Regional Sales Director, EOS of North America, Inc. “Instead of being constrained by traditional technology, engineers and medical professionals are now free to explore a world of new designs, perhaps with varied porosity built in, or features nested inside.”
DMLS can build medical products from regulatory approved implant materials such as stainless steel, cobalt-chrome, or titanium alloys.
Posted by: Paul Whittaker, Editor ipmd.net, [email protected]
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