Have you ever imagined that NASA will also use a 3D printer for the next mission to Mars? In a similar way to how they already work in ordinary terrestrial construction, this highly advanced space model will be able to construct buildings with a surface area of 167 m2 in just over 13 hours.
With this technology of the future not only can you create clothes, human organs or animals, tools and various tools, but practically everything that you imagine human imagination: that the era of imagination begins thanks to units like the Coordinate Measuring Machine.
A well-known application case is that of GE Aviation, which already today prints around 100,000 pieces / year (other than a few units!) Of its turbines with additive technologies.
GE’s Oil & Gas division is taking an interest in the use of 3D printing for the realization of the most performing components for its plants (turbine elements and compressors), trying to respond in an increasingly targeted way to the needs of customers about the desire to obtain more reliable and more efficient products, which can reduce operating costs of use during their useful life.
An example is the experience made by the surgeons of the University Hospital of Basel, thanks to a Coordinate Measuring Machine and 3D printer installed in the skull and maxillofacial surgery department – where a 3D printing laboratory was created that transformed the surgical planning processes. -, reduced the operating time of complex cranio-maxillofacial operations by more than 33% with the use of 3D printed surgical guides, reducing the risk of complications and improving patient outcomes.
Prior to the introduction of the 3D printer, each intervention required the team to plan reconstructions using standard titanium meshes, which had to be cut and hand-formed in the operating room to ensure an exact fit. 3D printing now allows the team to produce a patient-specific model prior to each operation, all within two hours of receiving the CT scan.
It is a complete, effective and certified clinical solution that allows to obtain the 3D printed model of an organ, or a part of it, starting from the image obtained with TAC, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, etc.
It is called Hospital AM Solution and is a package that integrates Segment CT clinical segmentation software with a Prime high-precision 3D printer, capable of printing on 12 different types of material, including biocompatible solutions.
The added value of this “all-in-one” solution is to rely on an integrated workflow that simplifies its use, from importing the DICOM image, to 3D segmentation, to generating the STL file to 3D printing of the model: this means that for the technical staff of the hospital it is sufficient basic training that is provided via the web directly from the manufacturer to learn how to use the tools.
