In the News
Exploring Applications in Medical Device Manufacturing
January 19, 2019
Enabled by Michigan state legislation, the Grand Rapids SmartZone Local Development Finance Authority has awarded a half-million-dollar grant that will be used to fund a 2.5-year collaborative program centered around cost and time barriers for medical devices entering the market. Together, Grand Valley State University and its study partners – certified contract manufacturer MediSurge and the university’s applied Medical Device Institute (aMDI) – will be using 3D printing from Carbon to create production-grade parts, out of medical-grade materials and tolerances, in an effort to accelerate medical device development, along with the component manufacturing cycle. A Carbon 3D printer has been installed in aMDI’s incubator space, where the team and over a dozen students and faculty from the university’s Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing will work to determine the “tipping point” where 3D printing can become the top method, in terms of part number and complexity, to help lower startup costs and time to market, which could majorly disrupt existing manufacturing practices for medical devices. Continue Reading