They’ve published videos that show both the fabrication techniques and some success at flying. While they don’t appear to have great flying technique, yet, they’re well on their way.

This fabrication technique certainly has applications much broader than robotics. I look forward to seeing a breadth of creative micro-scale components in the micromanufacturing realm. Has anyone seen other examples of novel micromanufacturing techniques?

Market consolidation in the clinical testing instrument business was evident on the show floor, with many exhibitors displaying families of instruments recently acquired from other smaller businesses.  From the looks of it there is more consolidation in store; the lure of the personalized medicine business has generated a large number of new companion diagnostics instruments and assays, and it appears the number of PCR instruments far exceeds what the market could demand.

Also evident on a walk-around is the increasing trend away from large central lab instruments and toward smaller footprint satellite lab and portable instruments.  This trend is likely fueled by increasing interest in lower cost and quicker turnaround point-of-care diagnostics coupled with ready mini-electronics and battery design arising from the consumer electronics industry.

Another trend shown in recently years is the influx of new players from emerging markets such as Latin America and Asia Pacific.  The IVD market is expecting a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% for the next 5 years with the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions leading the way, according to the expo issue of the Clinical Laboratory News July 2011.  Not only are the demands from these markets are growing, confirmed by the number of international participants walking the floor, but also the technology innovation from these regions is forecast to surpass the U.S in the coming decade.  This year, there were 55 Chinese biotech companies and manufacturers showcasing lab devices, assays, manufacturing components, and even a CAP-accredited clinical lab network.  The fact that most manufacturers claim ISO 13485 certificate and CE mark shows the sophistication and competitiveness of the Asia Pacific biotech sector.  The shifting landscape of both major market places and innovation drivers will be interesting and a challenge for U.S. companies in the coming decade.

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

Filmmaker Michael John Evans sets out to visually portray “the zone” which one enters when their craft is honed. Sean Walling, owner of Soulcraft, builds top notch custom steel bicycle frames. This short film documents Sean’s fabrication methods: a well choreographed dance of experience and muscle memory producing a seemingly effortless ode to process. From Steel: invites the viewer into Sean’s machine shop for an up close and personal look at the work that results in yet another awesome Soulcraft.

This year’s competition was deemed “LogoMotion”, where one objective of the game was to hang inflated tubes onto wall-mounted pegs as high as nine feet.  Another objective was to construct and deploy a mini-robot which could climb a ten foot pole.  (Watch this video for the official game announcement.  Although the build season was hampered by weather-related school closures, all three teams were able to finish construction as a result of the substantial effort put in by the students, teachers, mentors, and parents.

During the Chesapeake Regional competition, our students conversed professionally with the judges and their peers, actively strategized for upcoming matches, and enjoyed the competition experience immensely. It was satisfying to help create an environment where students experienced and actively participated in the development of a real-life engineering project.  More importantly, the students had opportunities to engage with engineers on an individual basis and gain plenty of exposure to career choices in engineering.  As the 2011 FRC season recently came to a close, watch for even more participation from Key Tech engineers in 2012!

Key Tech predominately develops medical devices. About 80% of our work is electro-mechanical medical device development. The majority of the remaining 20% continues to be electro-mechanical hand-held and laboratory instruments, just not in the medical industry. In all cases, our design process is governed by an extensive quality assurance protocol that is currently certified to both ISO9001:2008 and ISO13485:2003 standards.

Our medical portfolio of more than two dozen devices includes in vitro diagnostics, molecular diagnostics, therapeutic instruments, and drug delivery devices. Some examples of our work include:

• ­ Laparoscopic surgical instruments
• ­ Delivery instrument for cryotherapy treatment of esophageal cancer lesions
• ­ Drive system for pediatric autism training robot
• ­ Automated dose activation system for innovative biologic with time-sensitive stability
• ­ Automated multiple syringe control system for OR drug delivery
• ­ Microwave heat delivery for targeted cancer treatment biologic
• ­ Suite of 21 physical therapy tools: wireless conversion and data collection management
• ­ Redesign of infant incubator components
• ­ Respiratory flow sensor for monitoring mild spectrum sleep apneas
• ­ Diagnostic vein location system
• ­ Continuous wearable glucose monitoring system
• ­ Blood hematocrit meter and disposable cuvettes design
• ­ Blood multi-analyte meter
• ­ Cassette redesign for reagent-based MRSA detection
• ­ Microfluidic sample preparation and handling: multiple projects
• ­ Molecular diagnostic chip design and chip interface design and prototyping
• ­ Molecular diagnostic microprocessor-based control and detection algorithms
• ­ Molecular diagnostic – industrial design of instrument user interface
• ­ Multi-well array for cancer detection via electrophoresis

More information, pictures, and detailed product development case studies are available in our online Portfolio.

Layer built processes create a single part by building up  a series of 2D cross-sections. Different methods require different layer heights and have different means of supporting the layers that are hollow underneath. Of course, one advantage of this process is that parts can be made that could never be fabricated by traditional production methods, such as hollow spheres or even an assembly of multiple integrated parts in a single build that come out of the machine assembled (such as the links of a chain).

SLA (Stereolithography) – Liquid photopolymer (resin) is cured with a laser in layers. After each layer is laid down, the platform lowers further into the resin by the layer thickness, and the laser cures the next layer of material. The part is then post cured with UV light. SLA was one of the first additive rapid prototyping technologies and is still the gold standard.  It is good for general pupose form and fit protoypes and when parts require high resolution, smooth surface finish, or optical clarity.

A part manufactured by SLA (Photo Credit: Key Tech)

SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) – SLS builds layers similar to SLA, except instead of using UV light and a liquid photopolymer, a powdered material (real plastic or metal) is heated and fused together by a laser as a series of 2D cross-sections. SLS is a good choice for functional testing with real materials when smooth surface finish and fine resolution are not required.

A part manufactured through SLS (Photo Credit: Key Tech)

FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) – Similar to a precision hot glue gun, long strands of real plastic material (ABS, PC, and others) are fed into the nozzle, melted, and deposited in a series of 2D cross-section layers. FDM layers are generally the thickest of the various processes, which limits feature size, but it usually provides better strength and robustness in comparison. FDM is good for prototyping functional parts without small features where surface finish is not important.

A part manufactured through FDM (Photo Credit: Key Tech)

Polyjet – Using inkjet printing technologies, UV-curable materials are effectively “printed” on top of the previous layer to create a 3-dimensional part. Polyjet can produce high resolution parts with decent surface finish, is generally cheaper and faster than most other processes, and is one of the only additive prototyping processes that can produce flexible parts.  It is a good process for small parts requiring good resolution and a decent surface finish, or when flexible parts need to be prototyped.

A part manufactured through Polyjet (Photo Credit: Key Tech)

Design engineering is a “tool” every medical device venture should take seriously.  Before searching for funding or lining up office space, your design must be thoroughly evaluated in its intended use.  Key Tech is the perfect partner for this, having spent the last 13+ years developing medical products.

Brian Lipford, VP of Strategic Development at Key Technologies kicked off the Tool Box Day by presenting an introduction to Key Tech.  His presentation is below:

After the presentations, we met with medical students, residents, researchers and some early-stage start ups.  Our advice to each of these entrepreneurs was the same:  Prior to engaging with Key Tech, you need to do your homework!

1. IP – Take a look at the patent landscape to see if your idea is unique.  At the very least, spend some time on Google poking around; it could save a lot of time and heartache.  It’s no surprise that without solid IP coverage, the deck is stacked against you.
2. Risks – What are the technical risks associated with your product?  What are the risks to the patient?  Medical device development is a risk-based business, so be comfortable with discussing this.
3. Funding - How will you obtain funding?  Key Tech may be interested in a joint venture arrangement with the right companies who are well funded.  If your idea has enough merit, Key Tech may be open to pursuing an SBIR grant.
4. Regulatory - What is your FDA regulatory strategy?  Does your technology fall into the streamlined 510k process, or is it going to be a more lengthy PMA application?  What are your potential reimbursement codes, because without them, you have no market!
5. Competition - Scope out your competitors.  Is it possible that they could be developing similar technology to yours?  Are you willing to compete with them?

Key Tech enjoys attending events like these because it gives us a chance to interact with researchers and professionals on the front lines of medicine.  Without their expertise, we are often times left doing needs assessments in a box, which isn’t very effective.  We love solving problems, but it takes partnerships with the right people to identify those problems.

Aris Melissaratos, Senior Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins, spoke at the event about the $1.4 billion research budget at Hopkins.  He mentioned they are looking to improve their “return on investment” by spinning out more companies and ideas from the university stemming from their research.  We see this as a perfect opportunity for Johns Hopkins to reach out to the business community, and for the community to do the same to bring product innovation up to par with research at the university.

• Uniform wall thickness
• Radii on the corners
• Sufficient draft
• Bosses
• Ribs
• Choice of parting lines
• And many more

Learning how to design a perfect injection molded part can take a long time and could require years of learning lessons the hard way. There are many books on the subject, but sometimes a great resource is the downstream vendors themselves. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, it never hurts to work closely and early with vendors when designing custom parts. They’ll be designing the tooling and controlling the process parameters, so they can help you understand what works best.

ProtoMold is a rapid injection molder – they turn soft-tools and injection molded parts around quickly. To help designers make the most out of their services, they’ve provided a Design for Moldability reference with a few of the most fundamental concepts discussed. While their capabilities are slightly limited to provide such quick turn-around, their guidelines provide several sound ways to improve an injection molded part, resulting in less expensive tooling and a better performing component. (Registration required to view the document)

Disclaimer: Key Tech is not connected in any way with ProtoLabs or their affiliates and was not compensated in any way for pointing out this guide to you. We just like their work.