MEDICAL SECTOR PRODUCTIVITY INJECTION
3D printing of dental components is
being undertaken at CADSPEED
to invest in new models; firstly in Tornos
Gamma 20 (20 mm maximum diameter)
machines and then in Tornos Swiss GT13
(13 mm maximum diameter) machines. Our
current machine inventory consists of 23
Tornos models.”
From a milling perspective, having
doubled the size of its premises in 2016
and the same year purchased its first 5-axis
machining centre, a Hurco (https://is.gd/
utebev) VMX42SRTi with swivelling B-axis
spindle, subcontractor Almond Engineering
has installed a second such model. The
Hurco VMX42SRTi offers X-, Y- and Z-axis
travels of 1,067, 610 and 610 mm,
respectively, with ±90° of B-axis tilt and
360° C-axis rotation.
Managing director Chris Smith favours
this style of 5-axis machining centre over the
trunnion-mounted rotary table arrangement,
due to its versatility for tackling a greater
variety of work. Last year saw the arrival of a
Hurco VMX30i, purchased with a fourth-axis
rotary table to speed set-ups, increase
production efficiency and reduce delivery
times, plus a larger 3-axis VMX60i with
1,525 by 660 by 610 mm working volume
that extends the size of component that can
be machined at the Livingston site.
Almond Engineering’s overall spend in
2018 exceeded £400,000, and half that
figure again is due to be spent this year.
Driving this level of investment was 25%
growth in 2016/17, a further increase in
turnover the following year and a predicted
19% rise this financial year. Much of the
growth has come from winning new business
from the medical sector in Scotland, such as
equipment for producing contact lenses and
the machining of parts for operating theatre
equipment.
ENTER ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
The medical industry, like many others,
is increasing its adoption of additive rather
than conventional subtractive manufacturing.
Producing dentures, for example, using 3D-
printing methods makes the process fast,
flexible and simple, and one company
benefiting from this technology is
CADSPEED, a digital milling centre in
Hanover, Germany. CADSPEED uses a
TruPrint 1000 from Trumpf (https://is.gd/
uviboq) to manufacture dentures for dentists,
orthodontists and laboratories throughout
Europe, and confirms significantly higher
productivity, improvements in quality and far
less material wastage as a result of its
investment.
CADSPEED’s Hindrik Dehnbostel is a
master dental technician who employs a
38-strong team to manufacture dentures.
Dehnbostel tested the TruPrint 1000 for
three months before deciding to buy it.
However, since the machine’s installation,
it has been running in three-shift mode, five
days a week. The TruPrint 1000 offers an
effective standard build volume of 98 mm
diameter by 100 mm height.
“When you’re running at full capacity and
need to produce a lot of parts, 3D printing
really comes into its own,” says Dehnbostel.
“The system has proven to be both reliable
and robust.”
Another key advantage of 3D printing for
CADSPEED is improved quality. Dental
technicians almost always struggle with
space constraints. The firm says it is
exceptionally difficult to profile corners and
edges using a milling machine – the tooth is
simply too small. In addition, tools cannot
reach all areas and sometimes break.
Concludes Dehnbostel: “There’s no
avoiding the rise of 3D printing. After all,
at some point it will be the patient who
decides how their denture is manufactured.
Today’s generation is increasingly growing
up with digitisation in their lives. They know
3D printing produces better quality than
milling.” ■
40 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets October 2019
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