What's Up with Direct Metal Printing? (QMED)
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Standardization of 3-D printing technology is still an ongoing process, but the development of technology-specific standards will facilitate its adoption in the medical device industry
“Today, metal printing is already being applied in a large variety of medical device applications, ranging from patient-specific orthopedic and craniomaxillofacial implants to instrumentation and mass-produced spinal and orthopedics implants,” Mercelis remarks. “The technology has the potential to improve the functionality of medical devices because it offers unlimited design freedom.”Much ink has been spilled about the virtues of 3-D printing. At the same time, all experts (and fans) acknowledge that the technology still has a long row to hoe before the medical device industry can adopt it fully. At MD&M East on June 11, Peter Mercelis, director applied technologies, healthcare at 3D Systems (Heverlee, Belgium), will address 3-D printing issues in a presentation focusing on “New Technology, Materials Science, and Metallurgy in 3-D Metal Printing.”
What should manufacturers expect from 3-D printing? For one thing, the abil...
