Jungho Choi is a Ph.D candidate at Gatech with a background in mechanical engineering. His research is specialized in micro/nanoscale manufacturing. He aims to develop a new metal/polymer additive manufacturing system and generate the processing science for a rapid and cost-effective nanoscale fabrication system. Jungho is an expert speaker for the 3DHEALS virtual event focusing on 3D microfabrication and is also an author of a recent publication focusing on the same subject.

When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing?

Jungho: The first time I encountered 3D printing was at Georgia Tech back in 2016. As I entered the invention studio in the mechanical engineering department building, I was immediately struck by the whirring and buzzing sounds from the printers. Watching as layers of material slowly formed into an object was mesmerizing. At that moment, I could not help but be surprised by the innovation and potential of this technology. I kept thinking about the novel ideas of the possibilities that 3D printing could be used, from customized products to revolutionary advancements in manufacturing. 

What inspired you to start your journey?

Jungho: The ability to create unique structures that were previously impossible with conventional fabrication methods served as a powerful inspiration for embarking on my journey in 3D printing. The potential of leveraging this technology to innovate and push the boundaries of what can be achieved, both in terms of design complexity and functionality, inspired me to explore its potential. 

Who inspired you the most along this journey?

Jungho: Professor Sourabh Saha from Gatech inspired me through this 3D printing research journey. His dedication to advancing 3D printing technology on an industrial scale, particularly through his innovative work in micro/nano 3D printing techniques, has been a profound inspiration on my 3D printing journey. His mentorship sparked my enthusiasm for exploring the potential of 2D and 3D printing, driving me to contribute to the advancement of this field and make a meaningful impact in the world. 

What motivates you the most for your work? 

Jungho: Currently, metallic nanostructures are predominantly fabricated by cleanroom-based microfabrication techniques, prohibitively expensive for low-to-moderate volume manufacturing. Although several localized deposition-based techniques have been demonstrated to fabricate nanoscale metallic structures, such techniques are extremely slow, with fabrication rates less than 1 μm²/s. My work was motivated by overcoming these current limits in nanoscale metal printing by using Superluminescent Light Projection technique. 

What is/are the biggest obstacle(s) in your line of work? If you have conquered them, what were your solutions? 

Jungho: Change the current nanoscale 2.5D printing system to a 3D system. Currently, the first layer of metal film blocks the second light projection.

What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing and bioprinting? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?

Jungho: Scalability is a significant challenge in 3D printing and bio-printing. As these technologies advance, ensuring that they can be effectively scaled up for mass production. The potential solution is to improve printing processes to be faster and finer than currently existing techniques. 

If you were granted three wishes by a higher being, what would they be? 

Jungho:

1. Invent very fast public transportation so that people can live further outside of the city (housing issue) 

2. Recover nature and air pollution before gasoline is ever used. 

3. Get a new energy source that is 100% reusable and environmentally safe. 

What advice would you give a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advice have you heard they should ignore? 

Jungho:

Good one: Embrace failure and learn from it. You will fail in a lot of circumstances in your life. Do not be afraid of it. Embrace it as a stepping stone to success. 

Bad one: Follow the “crowd.” Do not follow someone’s path just because everyone else is doing it. Trust your instincts and pursue your unique passions and goals

What’s your favorite book you read this year and why? Alternatively, what’s your favorite book of all time you read and why?

Jungho: “Empire of Ants” Bernard Werber 

The author enables us to view the world from a completely new perspective by breaking away from a human-centric worldview and looking at reality from an entirely different view, such as the perspective ants, allowing us to examine reality from various viewpoints. 

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3D Microfabrication: Medical Applications (On Demand)

3D Printing Organ on a Chip, Microfluidics Devices  (On Demand)

Healthcare 3D Printing Innovations: Pitch3D 2023 Highlights Part 1

The post Interview with Jungho Choi: Cost-Effective Nanoscale Fabrication System appeared first on 3DHeals.

Laura Kastenmayer is the responsible Industry Manager for Medical Technology at TRUMPF Additive Manufacturing. Starting her career as an application engineer for Additive Manufacturing in 2017, she had to deal with all questions related to process and parameter set-up as well as freedom and restrictions in design and material. These topics have been no news to her since she already got involved with powder bed fusion Additive Manufacturing during her bachelor’s and master’s studies of Medical Technology at Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. In her current role as Industry Manager, she has already overseen several customer projects from first contact to machine installation and equipment qualification of the TruPrint machines. TRUMPF’s TruPrint machines enable customers to manufacture metallic high-quality parts in different shapes and sizes fulfilling the specific requirements of mechanical properties, detail resolution, and cost per part. Laura will be a speaker for Metal 3D Printing for Medical Devices conference.

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Jenny: When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing?

Laura: My first encounter with 3D printing was in 2013 during my studies when I was working at the university and shortly after 3D printing became part of my bachelor thesis.

3D printing was exciting and new and not so well known at that time, which made it the perfect research topic. Nevertheless, even then I found some case studies on 3D printing of metal implants that fascinated me.

Jenny: What inspired you to start your journey in 3D printing?

Laura: During my studies, I completed an internship at the university hospital that specializes in CMF reconstructions. In several conversations with one of the senior doctors, he pointed out that custom implants are so important for these patients to give them back their personal appearance and thus their quality of life. 3D printing can do that, and that inspired me to work in the additive industry.

Jenny: Who inspired you the most along this journey in 3D printing?

Laura: My colleagues – most of whom started with no knowledge of 3D printing a few years ago – have acquired an insanely deep knowledge of the process, material behavior, and the technology itself that has led to innovative ideas in part and process design.

Jenny: What motivates you the most for your work? 

Laura: Our Customers’ Stories – It’s always amazing to see what our customers can accomplish with the equipment we offer and how technology evolves along with the industry.

Jenny: What is/are the biggest obstacle(s) in your line of work? If you have conquered them, what were your solutions? 

Laura: Metal 3D printing is very complex technology. Basically, every week I get questions I cannot answer right away in a proper way. But this keeps you motivated to learn and continuously gather knowledge. Teamwork and the exchange of knowledge and ideas is the key to successfully conquering this obstacle.

Jenny: What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing/bio-printing? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?

Laura: Many people still think of 3D printing as a prototyping solution, but it is already so much more. 3D printing has long been established in the industry as a trusted manufacturing solution for high-value products like medical implants. To realize the full potential of the technology, we need to stop debating whether 3D printing “can be a solution” and start asking “where and how exactly 3D printing can be beneficial”. Education is an important approach to this rethinking.

Jenny: If you are granted three wishes by a higher being, what would they be? 

Laura: Open minds, courage, and honest discussions – the key to successful developments in any field.

Jenny: What advice would you give to a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advice you heard should they ignore? 

Laura:

Good advice

Have fun and be inquisitive.

Don’t take “no” for an answer until it’s proven that it doesn’t work.

Bad advice to ignore

 At first, I was told that my enthusiasm might seem a bit unprofessional, but after a while, it became quite a successful way to convince others of this new and promising manufacturing solution called 3D printing. Don’t let others tell you how to be. There are so many ways to be successful.

Related Articles:

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Challenges of Developing 3D Printed Trabecular Implants

Materials for Metal 3D Printing Implants

Metal 3D Printing in Dentistry – Restoration

Metal 3D Printing to Biofabrication: Interview w/ Dr. Herderick

3D Printing Metal: Where we’ve been and where we’re going

Progress in Commercialization of 3D Printed Orthopedic Implants in China Since 2019

3D Printing Ti6Al4V Orthopaedic Implants: As Easy as Counting 1-2-3 (Video)

The post Interview with Laura Kastenmayer: Metal 3D Printing appeared first on 3DHeals.

3D printing is a great tool to make medical implants, and materials have a significant influence on the quality of the final product.  This blog focuses on materials for metal 3D printing implants.

3D Printing medical implants is a new tool to complement an already very advanced medical device industry. 3D printing is becoming more common with manufacturing high-value medical implants, which require osseointegration and/or patient-specific shapes. 

Beyond geometry, it is especially important to figure out what material is used in the 3D printing of the implant. For metals, a metallurgical process and metallurgy are what make it beautiful.

Materials for metal 3D printing implants: feedstock is the key

The 3D printable material or ‘feedstock’ starts as a powder and needs to be well known from the beginning, in contrast to the usual machining process, where a solid metal block is carved using the ‘milling’ process. The 3D printing process melts the powder to form the implant, which opens a myriad of variables that can change the material microstructure and chemical composition.

Feedstock characterization comes in place to avoid uncertainties in the final product, each character has an influence on different aspects of the final implant.

Materials for metal 3D printing implants: Left in the Dust!

The 3D printing processes for metal implants start by making the feedstock. The powder makers get a solid material and break them into small particles in a process called ‘atomization’. There are several ways to make it happen, but the best method for 3D printing feedstock is ‘plasma atomization’. 

To make a long story short, ‘plasma atomization’ is a process where a flow of melted metal passes towards a high-pressure gas torch with a sun-like temperature, creating a zillion small metal droplets that cool down and solidify while falling. This happens inside a tank that collects these droplets thru a bottom-funnel and is sieved to be separated by grain size, which typically ranges from 5 to 105 microns. 

Materials for metal 3D printing implants: Are you in good shape?  

Powder bed fusion relies on powder spread over a platform in a very even way to be melted in the contour of the implant, so the shape and size of the powder grains are very important in the quality of this “bed”. Uneven powder spreading generates difficulties in the powder spreading system which also leaves spaces for undesired porosity and oxygen contamination in the final product. 

Powder bed fusion using Laser or Electron Beam as a heat source is the most used 3D printing process for metal implants. Variations in handling, quality control, and safety limitations related to powder size and flowability. Therefore, inspecting the powder in relation to these parameters is important to have a stable, precise, and safe process. On a more mundane aspect, the smaller the powder particle size, the higher its price.    

Materials for metal 3D printing implants: Chemical composition 

Chemical composition determines biocompatibility, microstructure, and subsequently mechanical properties of the implant. Perhaps the biggest difference between 3D printing and other processes is the fact that the material’s chemical properties change during the process. Different chemical elements have different melting and boiling points so the vaporization rates are different for each element in the alloy, so this must be compensated in the feedstock. 

How we handle, blend, sieve the powder, and clean the part impacts the quantity of humidity and contamination in the feedstock. Therefore, most implant makers having strict control over the powder before and after the building process. This allows implant makers to control humidity and oxygen during printing, which has a direct influence on the mechanical properties of the resulting implant.

Materials for metal 3D printing implants: Like in cheese, better check the texture and quantity of holes.   

Morphology and composition have a direct effect on the final implant microstructure. The microstructure has great importance in the implant strength. The smaller the material crystals are, the more grains there are, and consequently more internal boundaries. Internal boundaries lead to bigger resistance to the atom’s mobility, which is related to strength.

When material failures, normally happen by cracking, cracks are generally initiated by irregular pores, rounded pores usually do not initiate cracks, so control feedstock is mandatory to control the process-induced porosity and cracking. 

3D printing medical implants are trending. The beautiful pieces of metal that look like cyber limbs or mimic nature are very compelling images, but material science cannot be left behind or we risk the benefits these incredible implants can bear. 

About the Author: 

Fabio Sant’Ana has a Precision Mechanics degree and a Business Administration Bachelor’s, born and raised in São Paulo he has 25 years of experience in helping companies to acquire and take full advantage of 3d Machining and Additive Manufacturing Equipment. Entrepreneur and knowledge avid is a member of standards organizations ASTM F42 Additive Manufacturing, ABNT CEE-261 Manufatura Aditiva e ABNT CB-26 Odonto-Médico-Hospitalar. CAD/CAM, Surface Modelling, and EBM specialist is passionate in connect people and companies to the right tools to accomplish the mission.

Related Articles:

Metal 3D Printing in Dentistry – Restoration

Metal 3D Printing to Biofabrication: Interview w/ Dr. Herderick

3D Printing Metal: Where we’ve been and where we’re going

Progress in Commercialization of 3D Printed Orthopedic Implants in China Since 2019

3D Printing Ti6Al4V Orthopaedic Implants: As Easy as Counting 1-2-3 (Video)

The post Materials for Metal 3D Printing Implants appeared first on 3DHeals.

Adam Clark is CEO and President of a Nationally Recognized Contract Manufacture of 3D Printed Titanium Implants, Tangible Solutions. Tangible Solutions provides large-scale precision Additive Manufacturing solutions to the Orthopedic Implant Industry.

After an accomplished career with the US Army as a Green Beret, Mr. Clark worked in Human Performance & Productivity programs as a Contractor for the Department of Defense. Eventually, his path led to the medical industry becoming a founding member of Tangible Solutions, a Contract Manufacturer of 3D Printed Titanium Orthopedic Implants.  Clark became CEO of Tangible Solutions in 2016. He will also be our speaker to the upcoming Cleveland 3DHEALS speaker this Thursday.

Jenny: When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing? What was that experience like?

Adam: Chris invited me to the first Tangible Solutions Office, which was in Charlie’s garage.  We were there to discuss standing up the business and working out the visions, sales and what that strategy would look like.  I knew the applications of Additive Manufacturing, but up to that point, I had no hands-on experience.  Before we sat down to discuss the vision for Tangible, Chris showed me the 2 Stratasys uPrints, and then asked me “What do you want me to print you?”. I told him to print me a knife. He went about the business of getting the machine ready and I went upstairs to get ready for our meeting, shortly followed by Chris.  About 2 hours later, Chris went down the garage and brought back an assembled plastic pocket knife.  I still have it today.  It was an eye-opening moment of the potential Additive Manufacturing can bring to the world.  It still gives me goosebumps.

Jenny: What inspired you to start your career in 3D printing?

Adam: At the time Chris approached me, I was working for a Defense company and my job was to scour the land for factories to refurbish Humvees from the United States Marine Corps.  I found a shuttered factory after a shuttered factory.  It was really sad and disheartening. Communities devastated. It was then I started to explore ideas of how I could have a positive influence on the Amerian Economy through manufacturing, but looking for something I was passionate about.  When Chris and I finally got together, I found a technology that had so much potential and was being underutilized.  I knew what I wanted to do, and then I found how I wanted to do it.  Today, Tangible Solutions is a Nationally Recognized Contract Manufacture of 3D Printed Titanium Orthopedic Implants proudly manufactured in Dayton, Ohio.  We reside in what used to be a shuttered factory, of which the lights are back on, and supplying the orthopedic market with high-quality solutions.

Jenny: Who inspired you the most along this journey in healthcare 3D printing?

Adam: First, my relationship with God has been strengthened through this experience.  It is through him that all these opportunities are possible.  My faith is as strong as it has ever been and I am so thankful.  My father was a huge influence.  Especially when times were hard.  He never let me wallow in my failures, and called me out when I was down.  He listened to all of our practice presentations and even paid me to do some work for him in his business when I was completely broke.  My business partner, Chris Collins has been a very inspiring person for me as well.  His tenacity to be the best and willingness to ‘slug it out in the trenches’ is unmatched.  He doesn’t back down from tough conversations and stands his ground.  He’s also had my back as we’ve grown as entrepreneurs and individuals.

Jenny: What motivates you the most for your work? 

Adam: My purpose to contribute to the American Economy by way of manufacturing the highest quality products for customers around the world.  It means so much to slap ‘Made in the USA’ on the products we ship out the door.  As our focus as a Contract Manufacturer of 3D Printed Titanium Implants has been honed over the years, I have been able to see first hand how the products we make give people their lives back.  Enabling them to live without pain and get back to experiencing the best life has to offer.  It’s an amazing feeling.  My family is a huge motivating factor.  Being able to show my children that anything is possible.  That you really can build anything you want from nothing so long as you are willing to put in the work and maintain focus on your vision.

Jenny: What is/are the biggest obstacle(s) in your line of work? If you have conquered them, what were your solutions?

Adam: Once Tangible was mature enough to make the leap to standing up our Factory, we found many challenges.  Cash flow management, validation of 3D Printing Technology for use in medical implants, and ISO Certification are the top three that come to mind.  You can say that we have conquered all three, but they all have their continuous challenges.  Really, that is what makes all this fun.

Jenny: What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing/bio-printing? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?

Adam: Acceptance.  Just a few months ago I called a prospect, and he called Additive Manufacturing ‘Black Magic’.  I asked him to put down his book “The Scarlet Letter”, and hear me out.  He was having none of it, ha.  There is a lot of misinformation that stems from Additive Manufacturing really being in its infancy.  For instance, we have customers that believe it requires a new 510(k) Submission in order to onboard a new vendor. In reality, that is not the case. The FDA is very well versed in Additive Manufacturing and industry is not giving our regulatory bodies enough credit on their increased awareness, understanding, and management of the technology.  This is something we can take confidence in especially since the use of Additive Manufacturing is proliferating.

Jenny: If you are granted three wishes by a higher being, what would they be? 

Adam: First, I would thank that higher being – God, for the challenges and obstacles that have made our team who we are today.  But for the question: 1. Introduction of future team members who know how to do ‘Whatever it takes’ (Tangible Solutions Core Value).  2. Continue to foster the trust and love our team has for each other. 3. More prospects to pick up their phone when we call with our message!

Jenny: What advice would you give to a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advice you heard should they ignore?

Adam: Don’t freak out when you hit the ground and your plan falls apart.  That’s all it was, a plan.  It’s up to you to dig in when times get tough.  Hold the line at all cost, that’s what makes you a legend.  People will tell you to quit, but they don’t have the same vision or context around your situation. When they tell you to quit, do not seek their advice anymore.  You are the only person that has to live with the consequences of your decisions, nobody else.  Find people you can trust and will make you better.  Speak your mind and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Asking questions makes you smarter.

Jenny: If you could have a giant billboard to promote a message to millions and even billions of people in our community, what message would that be?

Adam: Stop talking about what can be done to industrialize Additive Manufacturing, it’s already being done in Dayton, Ohio.

Jenny: What were/was the best investment you made in 3D printing/bio-printing/bio-fabrication?

Adam: Titanium metal printers.  Making it our sole focus to be the Contract Manufacturer of 3D Printed Titanium Orthopedic Implants.

Jenny: What were/was the worst investment you made in 3D printing/bio-printing/bio-fabrication?

Adam: 3D Printing Plastics as a service.  Low margins, low barriers to entry, and you have to compete with the companies that sell the machines.

Jenny: What was/is the biggest risk you took in your career? 

Adam: Selling off all capital equipment that did not contribute to the production of 3D Printed Titanium Orthopedic Implants, making it our sole focus in order to become the best.  It’s paying off.

Jenny: What do you enjoy in your spare time? What are you passionate about outside of your work/3d printing?

Adam: I enjoy camping, spending time with my children, cast-iron cooking, lifting and reading.

Jenny: What is your favorite quote? Why?

Adam: “Be a simple kind of man, be something you love and understand.”  This lyric is from ‘Simple Man’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd.  Being a Momma’s Boy, I love this song being from a mother to her son.  This song is a good reminder that our lives can be complicated by our decisions, and you can always take solace that there is somebody above.  It’s important to keep our lives simple to avoid clouding the vision for our life with things that do not matter.

Jenny: What does the word “3DHEALS” mean to you?  =)

Adam: We’ve had the pleasure of watching Jenny pour her heart and soul into 3DHEALS from the beginning, and it is extremely inspiring.  3DHEALS is accelerating legitimate conversation and opportunity for the medical community in regard to 3D Printing and BioPrinting.  As time goes on our society will benefit from these early conversations.

Related Articles:

Interview: Jan Jensen, Trailhead Biosystems

Interview: Greg Cebular, The Technology House (TTH), Ohio

Interview with Sam Onukuri, Johnson & Johnson

Metal 3D Printing to Biofabrication: Interview w/ Dr. Herderick

The post Interview with Adam Clark, Tangible Solutions appeared first on 3DHeals.

Dr. Edward D. Herderick serves as the Director for Additive Manufacturing at the OSU Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME).  His team is leading a research program including industrial metal printing, biofabrication, and biomedical printing activities.  He has held AM leadership positions at GE, Avon Lake AM startup rp+m, and EWI.  He received his PhD in MSE from OSU.  In addition, Ed serves as the Industrial Editor for JOM and is the industry chair for the 2019 International Society for Biofabrication meeting in Columbus. He will be a speaker at our upcoming 3DHEALS Cleveland event on October 17th, 2019.

Jenny: When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing? What was that experience like? What were you thinking at that moment?

Dr. Herderick: My first additive manufacturing project was a long time ago… I remember joining a project meeting and the team asked me to lead a new project on additive manufacturing; at the time I didn’t even know what the term meant!  And then I was blown away by the ability to print metals, ceramics, biomaterials, you name it.

Jenny: What inspired you to start your journey in 3D printing?

Dr. Herderick: Most of my career has been spent in the heavy industry doing metal printing for aerospace, automotive, and power generation customers.  When I was at GE I had the opportunity to meet some very passionate individuals interested in creating new patient therapies and it really piqued my interest in trying to improve the lives of patients using 3D printing.  When I came to OSU 2 years ago it was an opportunity to begin that journey and in particular through the collaboration with a colleague, Dr. Xu Zhang, who leads the biofabrication effort on my team.  
Maybe a fun take on this is that I always loved the scene in Star Trek IV where Dr. McCoy gives the dialysis patient a pill to grow a new kidney.

Jenny: Who inspired you the most along this journey in 3D printing (bio-printing/bio-fabrication)?

Dr. Herderick: A colleague in our biomedical engineering department, Prof. Cindy Roberts at OSU.  She has been a friend and mentor for many years and is a world leader in understanding and developing new eye therapies and ophthalmology approaches.  Her passion for improving people’s vision around the world is very inspiring to me and we always have high energy discussions!

I think the other person I would mention is Prof. David Dean who is a collaborator and colleague here at OSU and spent a lot of time in NE Ohio at CWRU.  He has introduced me to this field in exciting ways and we’re very excited about our upcoming International Society for Biofabrication meeting in Columbus later in October.

Jenny: What motivates you the most for your work?

Dr. Herderick: Improving the lives of patients all over the world.

Jenny: What are the biggest obstacles in your line of work? If you have conquered them, what were your solutions?

Edward:

To me there are two big obstacles:

• Helping people understand how much progress has been made in biofabrication
• Defining the right customers to develop pathways to the industry in this new field

Jenny: What do you think is (are) the biggest challenge(s) in 3D Printing/bio-printing? What do you think the potential solution(s) is (are)?

Dr. Herderick: A little different riff on the question but what we think about a lot is how to translate all of the progress in metal printing for the heavy industry into lessons learned to benefit biofabrication.  And this is a real challenge, it’s essential to work with the clinic to translate lab successes and stay grounded in what success looks like, but the community needs to engage a whole other group of folks—mechanical designers, equipment designers, materials scientists, who historically have been working on other problems like printing for jet engines.  

At a more on the ground level—in printing for eye therapies there is a real challenge in that material that tends to be transparent is not strong and materials that are strong are not transparent.  So coming up with a strong and transparent cornea is a really difficult and valuable problem that I hope the community solves.

Jenny: If you are granted three wishes by a higher being, what would they be?

Dr. Herderick:

A printer that can print tissue and vascularize it at the same time!

A tricorder for diagnosing patients

A printer that could print hard biomaterials (eg bone), soft biomaterials (eg collagen) and cells all at the same time vis a viz Westworld.

Jenny: What advice would you give to a smart driven college student in the “real world”? What bad advice you heard should they ignore?

Dr. Herderick: 

The best advice and coaching I have ever gotten is to always think about the customer when looking at jobs—what I mean is when interviewing for a company or thinking about working for a given group, think hard about the industries, number, quality, location, health, etc. that their customers work in, and not just about the company itself.  This will clarify lots of questions about working for particular companies and is something I didn’t really learn until 10 years into my career.

Jenny: If you could have a giant billboard to promote a message to millions and even billions of people in our community (i.e. 3DHEALS), what message would that be?

Dr. Herderick: Bio-fabrication is going to change patients lives in ways we can only imagine today…

Jenny: What was the best investment you made in 3D printing/Bioprinting?

Dr. Herderick: Building our own syringe based bioprinter using a Lulzbot with the open-source plans from Prof. Adam Feinberg’s group at CMU.  Pete Gingras at Viscous Biologics deserves a shout out for sending me that paper.

Jenny: What was the worst investment you made in 3D printing/bio-printing?

Dr. Herderick: Ha!  Will only share that over a beer at the reception☺

Jenny: What was the biggest risk you took in your career?

Dr. Herderick: Definitely leaving the industry to come back to academia two years ago to try and build a new center at my alma mater!

Jenny: What do you enjoy in your spare time? What are you passionate about outside of your work/3d printing?

Dr. Herderick: Riding roller coasters! Camping with my kids. Cooking new recipes.

Jenny: What is your favorite quote? Why?

Dr. Herderick: 

“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.” -Tom Bodett

I always laugh when I read this quote… it perfectly encapsulates how we need to flip the pedagogy of learning for young people and advanced students alike!  And also just makes me feel better when the trials and tribulations of life come along too.

Jenny: What does the word “3DHEALS” mean to you?  =)

Dr. Herderick: Combining patient-specific physiological data with real biological materials is such a powerful construct, it’s interesting to me because I think that there are two camps of people that think we’re either way ahead of where we are or that it will never happen, then there’s a smaller third camp that is grinding on making progress and improving patient outcomes with a dream of really changing the status quo in tissue engineering… 3DHEALS to me means that we’re working together to realize that vision as a cohesive yet diverse group of stakeholders and researchers (the third camp).

The post Metal 3D Printing to Biofabrication: Interview w/ Dr. Herderick appeared first on 3DHeals.

Want to write a piece for 3DHEALS Expert Corner? Email us: info@3dheals.com

While much has been written on new developments in metal 3D printing, there have been several types of metal 3D printing systems producing otherwise impossible parts for many years. In order to fully understand where the industry is going, it’s important to first understand where it’s been, and the problems with the status quo.
Below, I’ve provided a brief overview of established and developing printing techniques.  In a follow-up post, I’ll explain how developments in metal 3D printing can impact the medical industry.

Powder Bed Techniques

Selective Laser Sintering Process
Image  Source
In general terms, powder bed techniques build a metal part by melting one thin layer of powder metal at a time using either high powered lasers or electron beams. Laser-based processes include Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), also known as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and Selective Laser Melting (SLM). Electron beam based processes are generally known as Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM).
Powder bed printing is generally performed within a closed inert gas environment or a vacuum chamber. A roller or rake system spreads a thin layer (~50-100 um) of metal powder across a movable platform to form the first layer of the powder bed. A laser or electron beam then melts or sinters select portions of the powder layer into a solid piece according to the design of the part (unfused powder provides support during the printing process and is cleared away from the part once printing is complete). The platform is then lowered slightly for each additional layer; for each layer, a new layer of powder is spread over the fused layer and surrounding powder bed.  
Powder bed fusion uniquely allows for the creation of complex shapes, without the need for supporting structures. The unfused powder in the bed supports all portions of the print, including deep overhangs that can be problematic for other forms of printing.
At the same time, these systems also have several disadvantages. Each print requires a large amount of powder (in order to fill the print bed).  However, the unfused powder can be recycled for later prints. Additionally, the enclosure required to maintain the inert atmosphere around the printer typically occupies a large footprint in a manufacturing space. Lastly, this process is unable to print hollow cavities into parts, given that any cavities would be filled with powder during the print process with no way to empty once the print completes.

Wire melting techniques

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While powder bed fusion involves moving a laser or electron beam across portions of a powder layer to create a shape, wire melting processes move a platform under a stationary heat source (here, a laser, electron beam, or plasma arc). To build each layer, a wire is fed to the heat source and melted into a pool on the platform or previous layers.
This process does not have many of the same downsides that come with powder bed techniques.  Wire melting can create closed, hollow shapes or closed meshes.  Additionally, for laser systems, the size of the controlled environment is much smaller—often just a nozzle to direct the inert gas along the wire feedstock, rather than sealing off the entire print area in an inert gas chamber.
At the same time, however, these techniques come with their own set of problems. Products printed using wire melting techniques often have a lumpy surface finish that may require subsequent machining.  Additionally, given that the laser and wire are stationary, and that there are limited degrees of freedom when moving the part (which, unlike with powder bed techniques, require support structures), this process is more limited in the size and structure of parts that it can print.

Blown Powder Techniques

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Blown powder printers are commonly referred to as Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) or Direct Metal Deposition (DMD).
Blown powder techniques are similar to wire melting techniques, but rather than feeding a wire through the system, the printer uses inert gas to blow a stream of powder into the focal point of the laser, which in turn melts the powder to create a new layer of the part.  The powder nozzle can be mounted directly to the laser housing, resulting in a more compact printhead.
Blown powder shares several advantages with wire melting techniques: the nozzle focuses a smaller volume of inert gas only where it is needed, and the inert gases used to carry the metal powder offer the inherent protection. Additionally, blown powder systems’ more mobile and maneuverable print heads make it possible for these systems to repair or refurbish parts by printing onto existing surfaces. Powder systems can also use multiple powder compositions in a single print and/or mixtures to create high entropy alloys or novel composite systems.

Print and Sinter Techniques

Though it is hardly an official category at this point, the latest addition to metal additive manufacturing is a set of processes that directly print a powder form without melting it into place—effectively making a green body for sintering a solid part.
In general terms, the system prints out an amalgam made of a metal powder held together with a plastic matrix or binding agent—this is similar to how a plastic 3D printer would build a shape. Once the shape is printed, it is moved off the print platform and into either a furnace or a chemical bath to remove the binder. If the binder is removed via chemical bath, the remaining powder part is placed into a furnace to be sintered–a process where the metal powder is heated to a large percentage of its melting temperature, causing it to coalesce into a solid form without melting. If the part is placed into the furnace directly, the binder is burned off and the remaining metal powder is sintered into a metal part in a single step.
Sintering the entire body at one time allows for a more isotropic set of material properties in the part. That is, when you print an object layer by layer, there will be some alignment of material properties to the print direction since the solid surface of previous layers bias the solidification of any subsequent layers. That means the properties might be different in one direction (the print direction) than in another. Because all the layers in a print-and-sinter part are solidified at one time, this directionality is largely erased with print and sinter techniques.
While the specifics of this last technique are still in their developmental stages, there is great promise for print-and-sinter to drive down costs associated with previous forms of metal 3D printing. By removing the costly lasers, electron beams, and environmental controls required for other forms of metal printing, the cost of printers and the cost per print is greatly reduced.
Similarly, breaking out the sintering process allows for the use of more conventional furnace designs, rather than enclosures integrated into the print system, to maintain the environment around printed parts. Breaking out the sintering step could also allow for more efficient parallel processing of printed parts, where several printers create green bodies simultaneously and feed them into a single furnace to be sintered at the same time.
Several startups and expansions of FDM (plastic 3D printing) companies are currently developing techniques to print freestanding green bodies.  However, nobody has made print-and-sinter systems available for large-scale commercial use. It remains to be seen how the quality of items printed through these processes will compare to those made with previously developed metal printing methods as there are lingering questions about their print quality and if the tight geometric tolerances of previous techniques can be maintained through the separate sintering process. However, if such challenges can be overcome, print-and-sinter systems could greatly expand the feasibility and affordability of custom metal parts throughout many industries.

About the Author: 

Dr. Kimiecik specializes in failure analysis, failure prevention, metallurgy, and materials science. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2015, where he studied microscale deformation of shape-memory alloys. During the course of his research, he helped to perfect several microscale analysis techniques that combined electron microscopy, digital image correlation, and “big data” analysis. Dr. Kimiecik has a particular interest in shape-memory/ superelastic alloys, microstructural development, fractography, small-scale deformation and engineering mechanics issues pertaining to industries including medical devices, transportation, aerospace, and oil and gas, among others.

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Alberto Ruiz De Olano is the CTO/Founder of Optimus3D.
Q: How did you first encounter 3D printing? What was the story?
A: In 2014, we saw a metallic heat exchanger in a trade fair. The poster said “This stainless-steel part was produced in 24hours”, unbelievable we thought. We had been buying metallic parts for the automotive market for more than ten years and we never had seen anything like that. We spent one hour with the man in the stand talking about this new technology, and we saw the light.
Q: What inspired you to use or work with 3D printing?
A: We produce new solutions for problems that have always been there; sometimes faster, sometimes cheaper, and sometimes completely new compared to the current solution.
Q: What is the biggest motivation for your work?
A: Solve new problems every day. All works are different.
Q: What is the biggest challenge in your work?
A: Helping to find for our customers how they can be more efficient, not always the price is the prime deciding factor. In the medical sector, the biggest challenge is the lack of “engineered” physicians (as in the ability to engineer and design products) and the regulatory framework.

Q: How do you plan to conquer this challenge?
A: We try to work very closely with the doctor, to help him with the design. Also, we have started towards gaining the ISO13485 quality certification process. We are 3D evangelizers, and we try to carry the reality of the 3d printing building rates, materials, and average prices to the decision makers.
Q: What is your vision on the potential impact of your current work to the future of medicine?
A: Actually, we identify two very different groups of potential customers. Big market in the “Do it yourself” community for economic prosthetic products in child and low resources populations. High-value market: customized replacement (hip, knee, severe resections) and customized external prosthetic for temporal immobilization, or permanent improvement.
Q: What is the biggest change/improvement since last year this time?
A: The new HP technology produces FDA approved part to be in contact with intact skin. The price of this part allows us to start thinking about commercial solutions for some injuries.
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: About the organic design that we can use in our solutions.
Q: What is the biggest risk you took in your career?
A: I do not remember because I do not remember it as a risk, but probably was to start our 3D printing company, first we were two but now we are five and growing.
Q: What do you enjoy in your spare time?
A: Helping our community, actively participating in the local institutions, council, and sports club.
 

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