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Hi guys!

I’d like to know if anybody would have some infos on multi-material printers.

I’m in medical field and I would like to print anatomical parts including bones, blood vessels and other tissues (ex: muscle, fat, …).

Has anybody some infos on best printers for multi-material ? And also not too expensive if possible. :slight_smile: There are some printers that are way too expensive for basic medical users, so price is kinda important. (I’m thinking of around 5’000-7’000$)

Thanks a lot!

Pierre

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Hi Pierre, thanks for bringing this to Talk, we’ll do our best to help you out with some printer recommendations.

@Christian_CAD @Daniel_40 @FUTURETECH @SRMTechnical @Ara do you guys have any tips on this?

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Do you want to print mixing two materials in a single print, or a printer that can use many different materials?

I’ve been doing quite a few experiments with composite materials, speficially ABS and Ninjaflex, and Nylons (Taulman) and Ninjaflex.

Lulzbot TAZ 4 with a FlexyDually Tool Head (if you want to use Ninjaflex) or just a dual tool head will come in under $3k though I’d add a standard tool head as well. It takes more experience to run but for medical uses the large build area lets you print to a 1:1 scale with most of the body. I know people who have printed their own skulls 1:1 on them.

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Hi Pierre,

The Airwolf HD2X is a dual extruder for $3,995 and prints in a wide variety of materials, including Ninjaflex, nylon, polycarbonate, HIPS, ABS, PLA, Laywood, etc. Favorite part about them is they have EXCELLENT customer support. The build volume is comparable to the Lulzbot TAZ 4 (11" x 8" x 12").

Also… if you’re looking for medical things to print, or you want to share your own models, check out the NIH 3D Print Exchange: http://3dprint.nih.gov. Contact 3Dprint@nih.gov.

Good luck!

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Hey guys!

Thank you so much for your answers! I really appreciate!

In my mind, printing with at least 3 different materials at the same time is a required standard.

For surgery planing and training, best is to be able to print bones (solid material), blood vessels (soft material) and surrounding tissue (soft material) all at the same time.

If possible, 4 materials is even better, for example for including nerves in the printed structure.

If you know a machine printing 3 or more materials at the same time, I d be glad to hear about it!!
Thanks a lot guys! Merry chrismatas :slight_smile:

Pierre

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That’s honestly a tall order. There are some three extruder printers but the only one I know of and have actually looked at that has four is from http://www.hyrel3d.com/ . Their System 30 can use up to 4 extruders. I don’t know how well it does with flexiable filaments though. I’ve looked at getting one myself. I would say you’re reasonable limit is 3 because you’ll need to print support structure that’s easily removable and having a disolvable filament on the fourth extruder will make life easier and you’ll get a cleaner result.

If you want to use flexable filaments for surgery planning are you going to be cutting the flexable bit as a dry run? If so then Ninjaflex might not be the material you want to use as it’s pretty amazing how tough that stuff is. I don’t know of any filament based materials off the top of my head that would be sutable for that kind of use because I assume you want it so you can cut it and spread it easily for inspection. The flexable filaments on the market are made to be as tough as possible for part use.

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A quick correction that the Hyrel3d printer works with silicone and other materials which would fit your needs better than most of the stuff on the market. You might want to contact them and discuss it.

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Hey! Thanks so much for your answers!

I also found a printer but I have no experience with it. It’s the MH3000 from ORD Solutions http://www.ordsolutions.com.

I m in contact with them, but I don’t know how it’s gonna go. Do you have any experience with their machine ?

Thanks again!

Pierre

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It’s a five headed printer…

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Sorry, have no experience with their products.