Orion Medical and Dr. Andreas Schwitalla, professor of the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, cooperate in the validation of Orion's Thermal Radiation Heating (TRH) technology for 3D printed PEEK in dental applications.
New manufacturing methods such as 3D printing of PEEK implants must be able to compare with the standard technologies of moulding and milling. Only if results can be achieved that stand up to direct comparison in a reproducible manner, an emerging technology such as 3D printing of PEEK filaments can be used as a validated, advantageous alternative in medical technology.
TRH – next level technology for 3D printed PEEK in medtech applications
The key advantage of Orion Medical’s additive manufacturing technology is its Thermal Radiation Heating (TRH) system, which enables 3D printing of medical devices with injection moulded strength and nearly 100% density.
Only if the manufacturing method is validated, 3D printing of polymer implants make sense, both in patient-specific applications and in industrially scalable quantities.
In a direct comparison of different manufacturing processes, the engineers of Orion Medical, together with the materials specialists and clinicians of Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin under the direction of Prof. Dr. Andreas Schwitalla, faced the challenges that biomechanics dictates to manufacturers of dental implants.
"When comparing different printing systems, the M-150 Series from Orion Medical emerged as our favourite 3D printing system for medical devices, especially in terms of density and mechanical strength in all three directions. With the latest adjustments and the improvement of their TRH technology, Orion managed to qualify its printer for medical technology applications”, explains Prof. Schwitalla. “Now we will benefit from these modifications in our further design and development efforts of polymeric or hybrid dental implant applications.”
M-150 Printer to be qualified for orthopaedic applications
Another M-150 printer will be delivered in the next weeks to FH Kärnten, Austria: Together with an ISO and MDR certified implant manufacturer Prof. Spintzyk will qualify the medical printer for its use with orthopaedic implants.
With thermal radiation, the heat penetrates the material so that the layers really fuse together. “The result of TRH are parts or components with unique uniform strength, higher density, and stability. Orion's technology solves the anisotropic nature of FFF 3D printing, even for difficult-to-print implantable-grade materials like PEEK, PPSU and other high performance polymers. This results in fully isotropic properties qualified for long-term implantation", explains Christoph Koslowski, managing partner, Orion Medical.
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