Seco Tools, headquartered in Fagersta, Sweden, has released a white paper entitled ‘Challenges and benefits of Additive Manufacturing in the medical segment.’ The publication discusses the positive aspects and advantages of using the technology, along with looking at the issues that face AM’s adoption in medical applications.

Additive Manufacturing has evolved significantly since its origins, explains Seco. It has transitioned from rapid prototyping in the aerospace and automotive industries, to producing actual components for a wide range of industries, including medical applications. Despite the common perception that Additive Manufacturing is only for one-off production, companies are now using metal Additive Manufacturing for serial mass production.

However, Seco explains that AM still presents new challenges, from the strong expertise required to ensure the components are machinable to the limited range of biocompatible materials and the high costs of setting up production-scale AM facilities.

At the same time, continues Seco, AM offers significant benefits such as the ability to:

Create complex geometries,
Reduce material waste,
Decrease component weight,
Produce bespoke medical implants with short turnaround times.

The e-book is available to download here.