Tag Archives: Polymeric Materials

NIST Increases Awareness of Polymer-Based Additive Manufacturing

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Much of our previous discussion surrounding medical applications for additive manufacturing involves metal-based devices and implants. While metal compounds will continue to bring revolutionary opportunities to medical science, there is a growing interest in the use of polymers and other soft materials in additive manufacturing. Explore Polymer-Based Additive Manufacturing below.

About Polymer-based Additive Manufacturing

Polymer-based additive manufacturing is used for applications ranging from medical and aerospace to protective gear, tooling, and the development of functional prototypes. Sharing some of the same benefits as metal additive manufacturing, polymer-based creations reduce time-to-market, improve the quality of a product, and are developed at a fraction of the traditional cost.

Courtesy: NIST

A “Roadmap” for Future Development

As part of an initiative to increase awareness and commercial usage of polymer-based additive manufacturing, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the Measurement Science Roadmap for Polymer-Based Additive Manufacturing. The guide features the desired capabilities, foreseeable challenges, and priority research and development topics in using polymer for additive manufacturing.

The guide is a result of presentations, discussions, and group sessions that took place last June at the Roadmap Workshop on Measurement Science for Polymer-Based Additive Manufacturing at the NIST campus, in Maryland. The workshop brought together over 100 additive manufacturing experts, from both public and private entities, with the intention of developing a comprehensive plan to further the use of polymer-based additive manufacturing. Topics featured at the workshop included a need for materials categorization, in-situ process measurements, performance, process modeling, and more.

Additive manufacturing is a top research priority at NIST. Interest in polymer and other soft materials in additive manufacturing is growing, due to a range of properties and processability. NIST hopes the report will be able to guide and assist public and private entities in furthering the research and development of polymer based additive manufacturing.

What Workshops Like LAM 2017 Have to Offer

Like the Roadmap Workshop, LAM offers attendees the opportunity to meet with leaders, researchers, and innovators in additive manufacturing to discuss the present functions and future opportunities presented by additive manufacturing technology. Guests from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Fraunhofer IWS Dresden, and South China University of Technology will be present at LAM, addressing the challenges faced by innovative additive manufacturing applications. While metal-based additive manufacturing is still largely a focus, those interested or involved with polymer and other soft materials may still benefit from the workshops, sessions, and vendors found at LAM. For a full list of sessions at this year’s event, click here.
LAM takes place February 21-22, 2017 in Houston, Texas. For more information regarding the conference, location, or to register, please visit: https://www.lia.org/conferences/lam

Using UV Laser Surface Treatment to Modify the Wettability Characteristics of Polyamide 6,6 and its Effects on Osteoblast Cell Activity

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By: David G. Waugh and Jonathan Lawrence

Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, UK
Lincoln School of Engineering, University of Lincoln, UK

The need for biological implants grows year upon year and it has been realized that there is a drive within the biomedical industry for cheaper and easier to manufacture products. This could be met by the use of polymeric materials; however, it has been seen that polymeric materials can often fail clinically and be rejected by body due to the fact that the surface properties do not give rise to adequate cell growth. One way to counteract this is to treat the polymeric surfaces prior to the implantation such that they then have properties which enhance the cell response and ultimately reduce the failure/rejection rate. Many techniques have been developed for the surface treatment of polymeric materials; however, many only have the ability to modify one surface parameter at any one time and can have detrimental effects on the bulk properties. One promising and interesting method to carry out these surface treatments is that of the use of laser technology which can be applied to a number of different materials ranging from ceramics, to metals, to polymers. Lasers have the ability to change both the surface dimensions (roughness and surface pattern) and the surface chemistry simultaneously which can then lead to a change in the wettability characteristics. Wettability characteristics are those surface parameters which are directly linked to the wetting nature of materials; for instance, the contact angle is the angle the liquid droplet makes with the solid surface and the surface free energy is the energy associated with the solid surface giving rise to the contact angle observed. The wettability characteristics of a material have already been shown that they can be implemented to predict the adhesive nature of materials. As a result of this, many believe that wettability can be implemented as a tool to estimate the bioactive nature of materials. This would give a massive opportunity to the biological industry as it would allow those within the bio-implant field to have the ability to predict whether an implant will fail. Continue reading →