Surgical-Grade Accuracy:
How XJet is Reshaping Medical Device Production
July 11, 2024
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XJet enables at-scale production of previously unviable geometries
As the medical device industry continually seeks competitive advantages, additive manufacturing (AM) has been making significant inroads in this sector. Traditional production methods like injection molding often struggle with the unique geometries and smaller production quantities required in medical device manufacturing. However, many mainstream AM technologies also have fallen short in meeting market needs. This has raised questions about whether AM is the right solution for high-precision applications requiring production at scale.
A prime example is a surgical forceps medical application, which has stringent requirements for precision, durability, biocompatibility, and functionality. Featuring integrated components such as hinges or articulation points that must function smoothly and precisely, these forceps must be miniaturized to fit through tiny incisions or ports.
Limitations Undermining High-Precision Production
Traditional production of surgical forceps via computer numerical control (CNC) machining or metal injection molding (MIM) entails a long journey from design to production, often extending over months. While current AM solutions can achieve faster production for smaller quantities, they still involve laborious post-processing steps like curing, de-powdering, infiltration, debinding, and machining. Moreover, some solution may require a good number of iterations before producing quality parts. This has prolonged production times and required significant investments in manpower and equipment, with post-production assembly still needed. In the case of surgical forceps, the manufacturing lead time is still counted in months, at a relatively higher cost of ~$10/piece.
Additionally, current AM technologies, such as binder jetting that is gaining in adoption across industries, struggle with achieving the high precision and complex geometries required for innovative medical devices. Limitations in powder size and surface roughness restrict design engineers from fully utilizing AM’s potential. While some existing AM solutions do offer high-precision AM printing, they typically support small-scale production better suited for prototyping rather than mass production runs.
Medical device manufacturers therefore need solutions capable of producing tens of thousands of high-precision parts to meet market demands while shortening turnaround times.
Enhanced Precision and Design Freedom – Inkjet AM as An Alternative Solution
Over the years of exploring metal and ceramic AM markets, XJet has secured a leading position in serial production of small and complex parts. XJet’s solutions have particularly benefited medical device manufacturers by delivering previously unviable designs. The key lies in XJet’s comprehensive end-to-end solution, which includes the AM system, automated soluble support removal, materials, and software, all empowered by XJet’s unique inkjet technology – NanoParticle Jetting™ (NPJ).
Unlike common AM solutions that use powders or slurries, XJet’s NPJ technology simultaneously jets build and support materials in the form of dispersion ink at the submicron level. This ensures unparalleled precision and quality. For example, surgical forceps with dimensions of 25.0*6.8*6.3mm can feature teeth and holes made with accuracies of less than 50 microns and surface roughness of N6-N8, meeting the high precision and quality demands of medical device manufacturers.
XJet’s proprietary soluble support material can be removed in a fluid environment, enabling the production of complex inner cavities and features that are otherwise impossible to achieve. Parts that traditionally require assembly, such as forceps, can be made in one preassembled piece, at high resolution, and without compromising part quality. XJet has therefore unleashed endless possibilities for product designs, empowering the industry to reach new levels of innovation, quality and functionality.
Precision Production of Over 10,000 Parts – Inkjet AM for Serial Production
Current mainstream AM technologies, such as selective laser melting (SLM) and selective laser sintering (SLS), can produce high-quality parts at medium to large size, but are hindered by long production processes, rough surface finishes, and build size limitations. When it comes to small parts, or parts with tiny features for quantity production, most AM vendors cannot deliver the goods. These drawbacks diminish the advantages of AM for high-complexity medical device production.
XJet’s end-to-end AM solution – comprising three simple steps of print, wash, and sinter – shortens production cycles and speeds time to market for medical device manufacturers.
It starts with the printing tray design, where parts layout can be positioned for optimal space efficiency with intuitive drag-and-drop actions and easy multiplication within clicks. As part shrinkage is isotropic, tray layout can be calculated automatically without additional preparation. Orientations can be adjusted based on desired features and dimensions at minimal limitations, as the build and support materials are jetted simultaneously at high accuracy and with thin layer thickness during the printing process.
Support removal, an integral and crucial stage for the production of complex geometries, is better executed with XJet’s soluble support material. Printing trays are easily placed in a water-based, non-acid “bathtub” for fast, hand-free support removal that takes down to only six hours. This contrasts with other AM technologies that require labor-intensive manual support removal, risking damage to delicate parts. XJet’s automated support removal brings the overall job cycle down to within four days only.
XJet’s high printing quality and soluble support materials eliminate the need for extensive finishing. Unlike common AM processes, which require lengthy handling involving multiple steps such as infiltration, debinding, depowdering, and machining, XJet’s solution requires only debinding and sintering. As a result, preassembled parts, small cavities, and highly complex geometries are produced with shortened lead times, uncompromised end-use quality, and at a scale unmatched by other AM technologies. The high-quality surgical forceps, for example, can be produced at a quantity of 10,000 and greater units per year per system.
Looking at the cost side, which is tied to material, energy and labor consumption, XJet’s solution is once again ahead of its time. Material waste is minimized, as the usage of build and support material is on demand and at the highest accuracy. The whole process requires minimal manual intervention, and energy consumption is optimized with a lower sintering temperature of less than 1300℃. All these factors are reflected in the production cost of parts, which is less than $3 for the preassembled surgical forceps. Imagine how much production efficiency could be elevated when parts are manufactured at mid to high volume.
Medical devices, especially surgical devices, are constantly exploring breakthroughs to secure a competitive edge. XJet’s advanced AM solutions have successfully addressed the existing challenges in the emerging medical device AM sector, paving the way for a new era of innovation and efficiency. By shortening time to market (TTM) and enabling production at scale, XJet empowers device manufacturers to build their competitive edge in an ever-evolving market. Now’s the right time to adopt the only direct material jetting solution for metal and ceramic AM.
