Creating Custom...Bones

Orthopedic implants are the sorts of things that you’d probably prefer not thinking about—a list of the tools that the surgeons need to employ includes drills, chisels, nails, screws, and other things you might associate with woodworking—but there are significant advancements in the technology, such as is the case at Galloway Plastics Inc., which operates GPI Prototype and GPI Anatomicals, with the last being a producer of medical implants. The company has recently brought on-line the EOSINT M 270 direct metal laser sintering system (DMLS) from EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, which performs additive manufacturing. Or, as Scott Galloway, president and owner of GPI, puts it, “We see DMLS as a huge step toward eliminating the gap between prototyping and production. With it, we can create parts that would not be possible to manufacture using traditional methods.”

Briefly, the process starts with a CAD file that defines each layer of a cross-sectioned model. This is used to drive the system, as 20 to 40 µm thick layers of metal powder are laid out, then sintered with a laser. The platform is lowered, the powder is applied as required, then the sintering continues until a 3D metal part—like an implant—is produced. The productivity of the M 270 is said to permit mass customization—as in creating particular products for a particular implant. Not surprisingly, beyond medical uses, the unit will be used for aerospace applications, as well as creating low-volume parts, tooling and inserts for molds.