3D Printing – Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control

Robot For Clinical Breast Examinations (CBE) To Detect Cancer Early

Christellee — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 07:59:58 +0000

The University of Bristol used 3D printing, other CNC techniques and employed a combination of laboratory experiments and simulated experiments on a fake (silicone) breast and its digital twin — creating a device that could carry out Clinical Breast Examinations (CBE).

The manipulator, designed by a team at the University of Bristol and based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, is able to apply very specific forces over a range similar to forces used by human examiners and can detect lumps using sensor technology at larger depths than before. This could revolutionise how women monitor their breast health by giving them access to safe electronic CBEs, located in easily accessible places, such as pharmacies and health centres, which provide accurate results.

Precision, repeatability and accuracy are of paramount importance in these tactile medical examinations to ensure favourable patient outcomes. A range of automatic and semi-automatic devices have been proposed to aid with optimising this task, particularly for difficult to detect and hard to reach situations such as during minimally invasive surgery.

The research team included a mix of postgraduate and undergraduate researchers, supervised by Dr Antonia Tzemanaki from Bristol Robotics Laboratory. Lead author George Jenkinson explained:

“There are conflicting ideas about how useful carrying out Clinical Breast Examinations (CBE) are for the health outcomes of the population. “It’s generally agreed upon that if it is well performed, then it can be a very useful and low risk diagnostic technique.

“There have been a few attempts in the past to use technology to improve the standard to which healthcare professionals can perform a CBE by having a robot or electronic device physically palpate breast tissue. But the last decade or so of technological advances in manipulation and sensor technology mean that we are now in a better position to do this.

“The first question that we want to answer as part of this is whether a specialised manipulator can be demonstrated to have the dexterity necessary to palpate a realistic breast size and shape.”

Intelligent Technology Fusion

The team created their manipulator using 3D printing and other Computerised Numerical Control (CNC) techniques and employed a combination of laboratory experiments and simulated experiments on a fake (silicone) breast and its digital twin, both modelled on a volunteer at the Simulation and Modelling in Medicine and Surgery research group at Imperial College London.

Read more here at page 36

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3D Printing Quickens Craniomaxillofacial Tumour Surgery

Christellee — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 01:49:01 +0000

3D printing transforms reconstructive operations and significantly reduces surgery time, Stratasys Ltd demonstrates how.

3D printing solutions by Stratasys Ltd used by the University Hospital Birmingham in England is delivering improved outcomes for head and neck cancer patients, with the institute reporting reduced surgery times by up to three hours through the use of tailored, 3D printed cutting guides.

This 3D printing success is attributed to the integration of a Stratasys J5 MediJet 3D printer that enables the hospital to create highly accurate, patient-specific cutting guides ahead of operations, transforming the way tumors are removed from head and neck cancer patients. Previously, these would have been created by cutting and bending a piece of metal by hand while the patient was on the operating table, resulting in a time-consuming process with a large margin for error.

Surgical Precision With 3D Printing Technology

Using 3D printing, the surgical team can now produce highly accurate devices using patient scans, with a resolution of within 150 microns, helping to support surgical outcomes. These are produced in Biocompatible Clear MED610; a rigid, transparent resin suitable for applications requiring long-term contact (more than 30 days) with intact skin and limited contact (up to 24 hours) with tissue, bone or mucosal membranes.

Read more here at page 46

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Additive Manufacturing Saved Teenager With Bone Cancer

Christellee — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 07:37:17 +0000

The successful operation to remove a 2kg cancerous tumour took place in Vinmec International Hospital in Vietnam, lasting 8 hours, presided by a team of 30 medical professionals.

Typically, when cancer tumours are in complicated areas, patients are often at high risk of death during surgery, even in advanced nations. In this case, the large tumour was found to be in the patient’s pelvic floor.

Vietnam encounters only between five and ten similar cases each year — accounting for 5% of bone cancer cases. The patient suffered numbness in the pelvic area, limiting his movement and gait. Several consultations with doctors concluded with prognosis of mild soft tissue injuries incurred from playing sports, despite the huge protrusion.

Image credit – Vinmec International Hospital

Vinmec’s medical experts realised the cancerous tumour is supplied by a large and complex vascular system, resulting in possible loss of up to 10 litres of blood during surgery. On the other hand, the tumour’s compression on vital organs such as the digestive system, urinary system, spine, pelvis, and blood vessels was a challenge to approach.

In a case of hemorrhage, it would lead to an uncontrollable situation without clearly revealing the tumour and related parts. However, without surgery, the patient would face the risk of left leg muscle atrophy, and eventually death.

Additive Manufacturing — Prelude To Procedure

The technology greatly help the medical team plan the procedure by printing the tumour, consequently, providing a visual and accurate assessment of shape, volume, and correlation with vital organs. Based on that, doctors could plan the operative approach and minimise complications.

3D-printed tumor model with a 1:1 ratio to help doctors plan precise surgery

Prior to the surgery, the radiologists embolised large blood vessels of the tumor to minimise blood loss during surgery. The next day, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, and urologists participated in the initial phase of surgery. Cardiologists exposed and controlled the iliac artery, and may perform ligation when bleeding is severe. The urologist then released the bladder and ureters from the tumor, and the gastroenterologist performed a dissection to protect the digestive tract.

Orthopedic experts removed the tumour through two incisions in the abdomen and behind the thigh. During the major surgery, the team of anesthesiologists continuously monitored and adjusted to maintain a stable state and minimise post-operative complications simultaneously. The team that participated in this major procedure comprised over 30 medical professionals. The process took 8 hours.

The patient resumed normal activities after three days and was discharged a week after. However, he was advised to wait for the pathology results is necessary to consider radiotherapy, but it is only an additional method. In this case, successful surgery is the best treatment for cancer.

Currently, there are few centers in the world applying 3D printing technology to disease models for preoperative planning of complex cases. Vinmec is the first and only unit to carry this technology in Vietnam. Presently, 100% of bone, joint, and cancer surgeries at Vinmec are performed in the same process: a virtual surgery (on the software), an experimental surgery (on the model), and then an actual surgery (on the patient).

Prof. Ph.D. Dr. Tran Trung Dung – Director of the Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Vinmec International Hospital

Prof. Ph.D. Dr. Tran Trung Dung – Director of the Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Vinmec International Hospital said: “The giant bone tumour in the pelvis (like a pregnant woman) compressed the left sciatic nerve, causing numbness and left leg atrophy. Untimely treatment leads to loss of function in the left leg, and is even life-threatening.

”Due to the increased size of the tumour, it would compress and cause blockage in the digestive or urinary system. Therefore, it is necessary to remove early to help restore limb function and avoid distant complications of the digestive and urinary systems.”

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The Rise of Additive Manufacturing In Vietnam

Christellee — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 06:01:48 +0000

Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, is gaining in popularity due to its broad scope of application, in industry, R&D, and for personal use. Asia Briefing offers an overview of how this burgeoning new technology is evolving in Vietnam.

AM is a relatively new means of producing goods, yet has become incredibly popular around the world in a very short amount of time. More commonly known as 3D printing, AM takes raw materials in liquid form and essentially prints a component, product, or part – layer by layer. This technology has been used around the world for myriad applications from houses to, controversially, guns.

In manufacturing hubs like Vietnam, this new technology has the potential to be a changemaker. It can produce parts and components for a fraction of their traditional cost, by limiting wastage and reducing the need for labour.

With this in mind, the potential for AM to dramatically disrupt the manufacturing industry is clear and as a result, drew significant attention in Vietnam. This is in both using AM in production processes and in developing AM technology.

In this light, it’s not only important but can be valuable for manufacturing firms in Vietnam to understand the key industry drivers of AM — how the industry is developing, and what impact AM might have on Vietnam’s enormous manufacturing industry.

Read more here https://shorturl.at/dsuPQ

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3D Printing In Construction And Its Impact On The Labour Market

Christellee — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 06:59:07 +0000

Construction is among the main industries that contribute to countries’ economic development, with a 9% GDP (gross domestic product) share and about 7~8.5% of the total global employment. Yet, using additive manufacturing (AM) in construction is slower than manufacturing.

Total worldwide spending in construction was US$11.4 trillion in 2018 and is expected to increase to US$14 trillion by 2025. Being huge economic contributors, the industry is yet plagued by low productivity, technological advances, minimum automation and robotic usage.

There is a strong link between the level of digitisation and its productivity improvement. The U.S. construction industry invested only 1.5% of value added on technology — much lower than the manufacturing industry (3.3%) and the overall average in the economy of 3.6%.

Various analyses portrayed that productivity in construction remained almost the same over the last few decades, whereas that in manufacturing nearly doubled. Recent studies depict the construction industry is gradually embedding automated systems and robotic usages, mostly in the research and development with very limited practical applications.

Virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, drones, robotic arms, lesser scanning/photogrammetry, 3D printing (3DP) are the several forms of automation being researched and used in construction. Nevertheless, most of these automated technologies are particularly used for some specific projects.

Considering the unique nature of construction, these technologies are not readily applicable or repeatable to multiple construction projects unlike manufacturing productions.

Read here for more https://shorturl.at/buvJL

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EMO 2023: Trumpf Opens Up New Applications And Reduces Waste

Christellee — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 04:00:35 +0000

New software for TRUMPF 3D printers eliminates the need for almost all support structures. Users such as toolcraft cut down material usage and reduce part costs.

High-tech company TRUMPF recently made improvements to its 3D printing software TruTops Print. Users can now print parts with extreme overhang angles as low as 15 degrees without requiring support structures.

TRUMPF will be showcasing its new technology at EMO 2023, the world’s leading trade fair for production technology, which will be taking place in Hannover, Germany.

“The latest version of TRUMPF’s TruTops Print software eliminates the need for virtually all support materials, which ultimately means quicker builds and lower material consumption,” says Lukas Gebhard, Process Development Engineer for additive manufacturing at toolcraft.

“Support-free printing gets parts close to their final shape. It opens the door to parts and projects that were previously impossible, such as the near-net-shape manufacturing of large-diameter internal cooling channels.” In the past, users had to print support structures together with the part in order to anchor the part to the build platform.

These structures also serve to dissipate heat from the printed part and prevent internal tensions and deformations during printing. But TRUMPF’s innovative new technology means that many 3D printing applications can now be carried out without supports, even when tackling hard-to-process materials such as stainless steel.

Software Opens Up New 3D Printing Strategies

“When we 3D print a part, we want as much control as possible over when and where the material melts and re-solidifies. The skill lies in choosing the right exposure strategies to prevent internal tensions and overheating in the overhang region,” says Timo Degen, Product Manager for additive manufacturing at TRUMPF.

TruTops Print enables the 3D printer to use the optimum printing strategy for each different area of the part, thus eliminating the need for support structures.

TruTops Print enables the 3D printer to use the optimum printing strategy for each different area of the part, thus eliminating the need for support structures. At the same time, the improved gas flow of TRUMPF’s new 3D printers caters to uniform processing conditions and support-free printing.

Support-Free 3D Printing Opens Up New Applications

“Users from any industry can benefit from the ability to 3D print parts without supports. The advantages of TRUMPF support-free printing are particularly appealing for parts that feature large cavities or challenging overhangs,” says Degen. Examples include tanks, heat exchangers, hydraulic blocks and tool molds.

TruTops Print allows users to print parts with extreme overhangs as low as 15 degrees without requiring support structures.

The new technology also opens up new applications that could not be properly exploited when support structures were still necessary, including areas such as additively manufactured radial compressors and shrouded impellers. Previously, manufacturers were unable to print support-free impellers due to their overhang angles.

“The need for supports meant that 3D printing wasn’t an economically viable alternative to conventional manufacturing. But now things are different,” says Degen.

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In-Vision Aids Revolutionary Sub-Micron 3D-Printing Development

Christellee — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 02:33:02 +0000

As electronic devices become more miniaturised, the demand for smaller optical components creates production challenges. Conventional methods for 3D-printing of sub-micron sized photonic devices is, in most cases, very costly and impractical outside of a laboratory. Nonetheless, In-Vision is helping to overcome this challenge.

Source: In-Vision Technologies AG

To overcome this challenge, Professor Tapajyoti Das Gupta of the Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore is pushing the boundaries of 3D-printing by developing a new printer capable of delivering sub-micron resolution to produce flexible, stretchable photonic devices with the potential to disrupt the entire semiconductor industry and build a more resilient supply chain.

Demand for Devices Creates Production Hurdles

High-performance optical devices are everywhere: from the average smartphone camera to augmented reality and virtual reality equipment, we’ve become accustomed to and demand exceptional quality imaging capabilities in increasingly smaller form factors. The problem is, producing these precision nanostructures typically requires a multi-step, layered 2D lithography process that requires multiple machines in a cleanroom facility, which makes it costly and hinders scalability.

Aiming to accelerate production and lower the cost, Das Gupta is working with In-Vision and J Group Robotics to build the first large format, sub-micron resolution 3D printer to produce exceptional quality optical devices faster and more economically than current 3D-printing technology allows. By eliminating the clean room and simplifying the process into one machine rather than 10, Das Gupta and his team are opening the doors to much greater production scale and new and broader applications.

In-Vision Light Engine Delivers Sub-Micron Resolution

Where most 3D DLP projectors are limited to one-to-two-micron resolution, Das Gupta’s work requires something much smaller, in the sub-micron range. To achieve this exceptional precision and scaled down image, In-Vision is supplying a projector, based on a DLP9000-Chipset with a newly designed optical path to achieve the sub-micron resolution at a wavelength of 405 nanometers.

With funding from the Indian Ministry of Electronics & Information, Das Gupta and In-Vision have partnered with J Group Robotics to collaborate and build the printer. The group meets frequently to collaborate on technical challenges and align on design and specifications for the printer, with an anticipated completion date of December 2023. Das Gupta says he expects the first optical component to be produced in Spring 2024.

Solving the Supply Chain Challenge

In addition to producing miniaturised photonic devices for AR/VR headsets, SLR cameras and smartphones, this sub-micron capability has broader applications for micro lenses in several other exciting areas. For example, the technology can be used to produce hydrogels and biopolymers for use in contact lenses, biosensors for detecting COVID-19 and other pathogens with a very low concentration of material through spectral analysis, and other applications in the semiconductor industry.

“3D-printing has taken over many other manufacturing processes, the only thing left is printing in submicron resolution,” Das Gupta said. “This technique has the potential to reduce the cost and drive drastic change in the semiconductor industry by eliminating the clean room requirement and making production much faster.”

In addition, Das Gupta says, “It also reduces the carbon footprint of the entire production process and could dramatically improve supply chain resiliency, allowing companies to produce and procure chips much closer to home.”

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India’s First Post Office Built Via 3D Printing Debuts In Bengaluru

Christellee — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 00:54:08 +0000

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually inaugurated the post office, the construction through 3D Printing carried out by Larsen & Toubro Limited with technological support from IIT Madras.

Source: Indulge Express

Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on 18 August 2023 dedicated to the nation India’s first 3D-printed post office located in Bengaluru’s Cambridge Layout.

The post office, which was virtually inaugurated by the Union minister from the General Post Office building, was completed in just 43 days – two days ahead of its deadline. Its construction was carried out by Larsen & Toubro Limited with technological support from IIT Madras under the guidance of Professor Manu Santhanam, Building Technology and Construction Management Division, Department of Civil Engineering.

“Bengaluru always presents a new picture of India. The new picture that you saw today in terms of this 3D-printed post office building, that’s the spirit of India today. That’s the spirit with which our country is progressing today,” Minister Vaishnaw said.

The post office covers a built-up area of 1,021 sqft. Its construction was carried out using 3D concrete printing technology which is a fully automated building construction technology wherein a robotic printer deposits the concrete layer by layer as per the approved design, and special grade concrete – which hardens quickly – is used to ensure bonding between the layers for the purpose of printing the structure.

George Abraham, Head of Operations (south and east), L&T, explained, “It is because of the robotic intervention that involves pre-embedded designs, that we were able to complete the entire construction activity in a period of 43 days as compared to about 6-8 months taken by conventional method.”

The construction was also carried out at a cost of Rs 23 lakh, around 30-40% less compared to the cost involved in conventional methods.

Elaborating on the critical requirements for concrete 3D Printing, Prof Santhanam stated, “The project primarily involves machines and robots which are indigenous, but needs to be scaled up in the coming days. The special concrete material used for this project provides pumpability, extrudability, buildability and is powered with mechanical properties.”

IIT Madras and L&T conducted several meetings in the run-up to the construction of the post office. Prof Ravindra Gettu from IIT-M was involved as a primary advisor who guided the comparability of the proposed 3D-printed technology with conventional construction. He also assessed the detailed techno-commercial proposal by L&T.

Other participants from IIT-M included professors Meher Prasad and Pradeep Pratapa who overlooked the assessment of material and structural design, construction methodology and schedule and approval of design and construction concepts. Gettu also conducted six site visits for assessing on site quality and providing guidance on curing and other technical matters, explained Santhanam.

Santhanam also highlighted that the project has no vertical joints and it involved continuous printing of the full perimeter. The 3D Printing technology which was actually imported from Denmark for the post office project was also flexible to incorporate curved surfaces and adapt to site dimensions, showing no constraints of plane walls.

The technology also enabled continuous reinforced concrete footing and three-layer walls with outer layers printed with concrete and the middle being reinforced concrete. The final construction schedule came down to just 43 days, much shorter than conventional construction methods and with less material wastage.

According to the developers, 3D Printing’s USP is to enable individual customisation of the structure which can play an integral role in housing-related construction. 3D Printing also enables incorporation of weather-proofing as well as utilities within the walls for more efficient construction. Thus allowing the delivery of quality houses anywhere, including in difficult terrains.

In fact, Rajendra Kumar, Chief Postmaster General of Karnataka Circle, stated that the larger goal is to find the 3D Printing technology’s utility in housing.

“Primarily, we are looking at building post offices with low-cost construction options using 3D Printing technology. We feel this is the technology for the future which may trigger interest in low-cost housing, which is our secondary interest. There are plans to construct post offices across 400 vacant sites across the state, where postal services are not accessible. But it will only take off after submitting a detailed report on the first 3D-printed post office,” said Kumar.

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Tailored NanoOne Saves Printing Time & Boosts Efficiency

Christellee — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 04:10:38 +0000

With the release of the latest software upgrade for its NanoOne platform of high resolution 3D-printers, UpNano has further pushed the limits of the fastest 2PP 3D-printer on the market. Now smart stitching can improve the quality of the final product and the already high printing speed can be increased even more.

Also, using the same objective and material, several completely different print jobs can be combined into one, saving costs and further time. All this is greatly simplified by an intuitive user interface that is an integral part of all software developed by UpNano. The upgrade is compatible with all NanoOne printers and most existing customers have acquired it already.

The 2-photon polymerization-based (2PP) 3D-printers by UpNano GmbH (Austria) are the fastest high-resolution 3D-printers on the market. Used in industry and academia alike, they have already set new standards in electronics as well as in micro-optics and for biocompatible applications in cell and medical research.

The extremely compact desktop print system offers high-resolution 3D-printing across 12 orders of magnitude. Now the latest software upgrade adds significant functionality.

Seamless Progress

At the basis of the upgrade is the ability to define several printing parameters individually and set complex changes of those parameters during the printing process in advance. The potential this offers for the quality of the print product and the speed and efficiency of the printing process can be dramatic.

“Now, products with exactly defined seams can be printed”, explains Denise Hirner, COO and co-founder of UpNano.

Seams are a serious quality issue for 3D-printed products. They are the result of the necessity to move the field of view during printing and to join (“stitch”) the printed elements of each subsequent field of view together.

“The unique features of our latest upgrade help to reduce this”, adds Denise Hirner. “By addressing more parameters individually and dynamically, it is now possible to define the exact positions of stitching lines. Depending on the final structure, this allows for a smart integration of the seams into the design.”

Results & Resolution

Furthermore, the resolution of the printing process can be altered as it runs. In consequence, parts that require less resolution can be printed at the lowest necessary one, together in the same printing run with elements that require much higher resolution.

“One can print less defined parts quickly and step-by-step increase the resolution of the process as one comes to the finer defined structural elements”, explains Denise Hirner. “In this way very neat printing of complex structures with different requirements for resolution becomes possible and this can save up to 50% time.”

The software therefore greatly enlarges the versatility of the NanoOne printer range that already benefits from the patented adaptive resolution technology allowing the widening of the laser beam by a factor of 10x for any given objective.

However, using the upgrade not only can one speed up the printing of parts with different resolution requirements – one can also combine the production of different parts in one print job. A feature that allows for a further significant reduction of printing time as well as substrate use and that is yet another step towards an automated 2PP 3D-printing process. The only prerequisite is that the material and the chosen objective remain the same.

“The flexibility of combining print jobs”, says Denise Hirner, “results in a much better exploitation of the substrate as more space of it can be used.” It also increases the flexibility in defining the workload of a NanoOne as now considerably more print jobs can be run over night, at weekends or other out-of-office times.

UpNano again demonstrates its strong sense of innovation with the release of this software.

Denise Hirner adds: “Just recently we held our annual customer event – an occasion where we always learn a lot about the evolving requirements of our worldwide customer base. With our latest software upgrade a lot of those needs are met, and we are very excited to further improve the performance of our printers together with our valued NanoOne customer network.”

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Manufacturing Companies Convinced Of 3D Printing, But Struggle To Get It Right

Christellee — Tue, 09 May 2023 08:06:56 +0000

A survey by Materialise, a global leader in 3D printing solutions, revealed that manufacturing companies are familiar with the unique benefits of 3D printing but face challenges as they onboard the technology and scale up to volume production.

According to the survey, companies recognise 3D printing as a leading manufacturing trend and are taking a more strategic look at using 3D printing to produce final products. However, the lack of a skilled workforce and the expertise to integrate 3D printing with existing production processes may slow down future adoption.

In recent years, the 3D printing industry has focused on convincing companies of the unique benefits of 3D printing. This focus on “why?” will now shift to “how?” as manufacturers are familiar with the benefits but lack the knowledge and expertise to successfully adopt and scale up the technology.

“Years long supply chain disruptions have made companies reevaluate their offshore production strategies and prioritise local manufacturing closer to demand,” says Fried Vancraen, CEO of Materialise.

“The severity of these disruptions has also prompted governments to invest in programs aimed at modernising and nearshoring their production capacity. Digital manufacturing technologies like 3D printing can support these efforts by enabling more resilient supply chains and offering significant time and cost advantages. As companies increasingly turn to these technologies, the 3D printing industry will have to make additional efforts to address the challenges they encounter, including training and workforce development, identifying new business models, and easier-to-use software and hardware.”

Read more here —–> https://t.ly/e3ZL

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The post Manufacturing Companies Convinced Of 3D Printing, But Struggle To Get It Right appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.