Design for Medical 3D Technology 🗓

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) emerged as a distinct discipline once engineers realized that “printing” parts designed for casting or machining squandered most of 3D printing’s advantages. From the 1980s through the 1990s, additive technologies such as stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, and selective laser sintering were marketed mainly for rapid prototyping, so design activity focused on speed and visualization rather than functional optimization. As industrial users in aerospace, automotive, and healthcare began adopting additive manufacturing for production parts in the 2000s and 2010s, the need to redesign components specifically around layer‑wise fabrication, support strategies, and new geometric possibilities crystallized into what is now called DfAM.

Today, DfAM is characterized by a toolbox of computational techniques—topology optimization, generative design, and architected lattice materials—implemented in specialized software from vendors such as nTop and other AM-focused platforms. These tools help engineers consolidate assemblies, lightweight structures, embed conformal cooling or fluid channels, and tailor local stiffness or porosity in ways that are impractical with conventional manufacturing. At the same time, industrial workflows increasingly integrate automated manufacturability checks, simulation of print-induced distortion, and process-aware design rules, reflecting a transition from ad hoc experimentation to more mature, engineering-driven design methodologies.

From a market perspective, DfAM grows alongside the broader additive manufacturing industry, which is projected to expand from roughly 26 billion USD in 2025 to over 125 billion USD by 2034, with design software identified as a key segment. The strongest DfAM pull comes from aerospace and defense, automotive, and industrial sectors seeking weight reduction, part consolidation, and high-performance cooling or fluid handling, followed closely by healthcare, where implants, surgical guides, and dental components benefit from patient-specific geometries and internal architectures. Additional growth areas include consumer electronics, energy, and high-value consumer products, where customized, lightweight, or ergonomically optimized designs justify the higher cost of AM and reward organizations that invest in DfAM skills and tools.

The final virtual event of the year sits within 3DHEALS’ ongoing effort to move “design for 3D technology” beyond tool-centric discussions and into questions of clinical value, scalability, and ecosystem-building. Prior and related 3DHEALS programs on “Design for Medical 3D Printing” and “Design for 3D Printed Medical Devices” emphasize topics such as patient-specific customization, digital surgical planning, and material/biomechanical considerations, and this session builds on that foundation by focusing on the next generation of design methods and software. Attendees can expect not only technical insights into computational design and constraints in 3D printing, but also a broader view of how these design philosophies are reshaping future healthcare products and workflows in “3D”.

Apply to speak or sponsor the event: info@3dheals.com

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Speakers:

Matthew Shomper

Matthew is a visionary leader in the computational design of advanced 3D-printed medical implants, with close to 15 years of experience in engineering, research, and innovation. As an inventor, creator, and passionate leader, he has been a part of founding businesses focused on additive manufacturing and is an internationally recognized speaker on biomimicry, computational modeling, and additive manufacturing – lecturing at conferences and prestigious universities including MIT and Harvard. Matthew’s work is driven by his passion for exploring the macro and micro of biological forms, turning algorithms into functional structures for physical devices. He has pioneered the idea of a “biologically advantageous implant,” and has also spearheaded multiple public initiatives to synthesize biological structures as computational models for use in engineered products. He currently is the founder and principal consultant of Not a Robot Engineering, a co-founder of LatticeRobot, and CTO of Allumin8.

Alexander Geht

Alexander Geht is an Industrial Designer and founder of Testa-Seat, Inc., specializing in custom seating systems for children with physical disabilities. A graduate of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and a researcher at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, his expertise lies in Human Centered Design and Additive Manufacturing processes, particularly Medium Scale, Pelletized Extrusion (FGF). Alexander’s praxis focuses on designing innovative and affordable assistive technology products.

Rob MacCurdy

Dr. Robert MacCurdy is an assistant professor in mechanical engineering (also by courtesy in computer science and electrical engineering) at the University of Colorado Boulder where he leads the Matter Assembly Computation Lab (MACLab). Rob is also a National Geographic Explorer. He is developing new algorithms, materials, and fabrication tools to automatically design and manufacture electromechanical systems, with a focus on robotics. He also creates automated methods to study animal behavior in the wild. Rob did his PhD work with Hod Lipson at Cornell University and his postdoctoral work at MIT with Daniela Rus. Funded by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a Liebmann Fund fellowship, his doctoral work demonstrated systems capable of automatically assembling functional electromechanical devices, with the goal of printing robots that literally walk out of the printer. During this time he also created low-cost, low power, and low-mass radiofrequency tags, and developed an “inverse-GPS” tracking system based on time-of-flight measurements that use 3 orders of magnitude less energy than GPS. He holds a B.A. in Physics from Ithaca College, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and an M.S. and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. Prior to his Doctoral work, Dr. MacCurdy spent 10 years at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, where he worked as a research engineer developing remote-monitoring tools for birds and wildlife. These systems employed methods including acoustic, radiofrequency, solar-geolocation, and inertial; battery energy-density limitations led to research in multisource energy harvesting, and the first vibration energy harvesters applied to flying insects and birds. Thousands of his terrestrial and marine autonomous recording units (ARUs) have been deployed worldwide and are still in widespread use.

Nathan Shirley

Nathan Shirley is Experience and Design Lead on a cross functional team of designers, programmers and engineers leveraging computational design workflows to unlock new geometries allowing HP and its partners’ additive manufacturing businesses to thrive. His background is in industrial design, having contributed as a designer and manager on teams and projects at Tupperware and then at HP. He focuses on collaborating on teams that are pushing the boundaries of the positive impact that is possible with innovative technologies.

Moderator:

Dr. Jenny Chen

Dr. Jenny Chen is trained as a neuroradiologist, and founder/CEO of 3DHEALS. Her main interests include next-generation education, 3D printing in the healthcare sector, automated biology, and artificial intelligence. She is an angel investor who invests in Pitch3D companies.