09.20.12
Swiss manufacturing services company GF AgieCharmilles has developed a start-to-finish process for manufacturing titanium tibial trays for surgical knee implants. The company collaborated with EOS, an additive manufacturing company based in Munich, Germany, to create this process.
The process starts with an FEA/CAD (finite element analysis—a method of mechanical computer simulation—and computer aided design) concept design, developed using Within medical software, of a lightweight yet strong tibial tray. The part’s complex geometry combines variable pore sizes on one side to promote osseointegration with a smooth surface on the other to support the loads on the tibia, according to AgieCharmilles.
“This blend of technologies goes far beyond what most other product developers are presently doing,” said Gisbert Ledvon, director of business development at GF AgieCharmilles in the United States. “The result is a cutting-edge turnkey manufacturing system that operates with very little human intervention and a minimum of scrap material.”
“This type of process chain is applicable to practically any industry,” said Andrew Snow, regional sales director of EOS North America, although its main intended application is for medical components.
CEO of Within Siavash Mahdavi, Ph.D., added, “As a manufacturing process, laser-sintering affords designers so much freedom that it is sometimes difficult to know where to begin. Our software and the partnership between EOS and GF AgieCharmilles point the way to others who wish to explore the benefits that design-driven, additive manufacturing can bring.”
Photo: A titanium tibial tray for a surgical knee implant produced by additive manufacture, 5-axis milling and wire EDM. Photo courtesy of ipmd.net.
The process starts with an FEA/CAD (finite element analysis—a method of mechanical computer simulation—and computer aided design) concept design, developed using Within medical software, of a lightweight yet strong tibial tray. The part’s complex geometry combines variable pore sizes on one side to promote osseointegration with a smooth surface on the other to support the loads on the tibia, according to AgieCharmilles.
“This blend of technologies goes far beyond what most other product developers are presently doing,” said Gisbert Ledvon, director of business development at GF AgieCharmilles in the United States. “The result is a cutting-edge turnkey manufacturing system that operates with very little human intervention and a minimum of scrap material.”
“This type of process chain is applicable to practically any industry,” said Andrew Snow, regional sales director of EOS North America, although its main intended application is for medical components.
CEO of Within Siavash Mahdavi, Ph.D., added, “As a manufacturing process, laser-sintering affords designers so much freedom that it is sometimes difficult to know where to begin. Our software and the partnership between EOS and GF AgieCharmilles point the way to others who wish to explore the benefits that design-driven, additive manufacturing can bring.”
Photo: A titanium tibial tray for a surgical knee implant produced by additive manufacture, 5-axis milling and wire EDM. Photo courtesy of ipmd.net.