The project of scientists of Department of Laser Systems and Physical Technologies (LTFT), of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering (MMI) for the manufacture of medical products made by a 3D printer became the finalist of the Sikorsky Challenge startup competition. Over the creation of implants, prosthetic elements, etc. the department of LTFT has been successfully working for more than the one year. Among the authors of the development were PhD in Technical Sciences Dmytro Lesyk and Professor Vitalii Dzhemelinsky. The idea of the project presented at the competition is to provide technical quality assurance for metal products: stents, dental implants, parts of pacemakers, knee endoprosthesis, skull, lower jaw, acetabular calyx, hip joints, etc. or medical instruments.
D. Lesyk tells about the essence of the work, “Selective laser melting or electron beam melting technologies allow us to create competitive metal products by melting metal powders, which require minimal postoperative processing. The proposed technology will make it possible to do it without expensive and laborious mechanical treatment, reduce the production launch time, produce small-sized and high-precision parts with complex geometry and cavities, providing high process performance. A unique advantage is the reduction of material consumption in the manufacture, a significant reduction of defects percentage and the prime cost of medical products.”
However, metal small-particle components which have complex shape and were made using additive technologies, require additional finishing treatment. In the Laser Systems and Physical Technologies Department, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, new technologies were developed using hybrid and combined post-processing methods, which, unlike the known finishing treatment methods, allow to provide high quality surface layer without barbs, sharp edges, microcracks and undesirable structural changes. These technical decisions are protected by Ukrainian patents.
“At this stage, pacemaker parts were manufactured by using modern equipment at the University of the Basque Country (Bilbao, Spain),” says Professor Vitaliy Dzhemelinsky. - It is planned to research properties of the products after post-processing and develop technological regulations for implementation in production process.” Post-graduate students Olexandr Danyleiko and Serhiy Saliy and engineer Petro Dimida are working on this project. It’s such a pleasure, that there is a continuity of scientific search and young researchers are growing under the guidance of experienced scientists