sterilization - what material to use?

[TruNorth]

I would second this. Biocompatible materials are still mostly relegated to high end industrial machines, but the Formlabs Dental SG resin is probably the most accessible and available bio compatible material for consumer printing. If you contact a Hub with a Form2 printer, they might be willing to special order that resin for you (if they do not already have it), but it is pretty expensive stuff comparably. Best of luck!

[Enza3D]

It is a resin I only stock for special orders because of that price tag. But from what I’ve seen of it, it prints beautifully and works exactly as it is designed to.

[zx81]

Did I say “only used by”?! I said “commonly used by” big difference… besides when you see hospitals and even vets using 3d printing is usually done in titanium… so when I read the original post I thought it might be some 3d printed Piercing type jewellery.

[Robert_57]

I’d second the use of resin designed for this purpose. Just about any thermoplastic you can print with (except PEEK maybe, and not many printers print this) will deform at the temps you’ll want to autoclave, so I’d say FDM printing is out. Polymerized resin should handle this much better and should also have a smoother surface with less gaps for bugs to hide in. Quite a bit more expensive than FDM but that’s medicine I guess.

[Perry_1]

You can print with Taulman nylon. Can be sterilized in autoclave. See their website.

[mrtaro]

Thank you for your input!

I sent a mail to Stratasys regarding autoclaving the ABS M30i material. I found on another page that autoclave will damage ABS M30i…

Formlabs Dental SG resin looks like a very good choice. I will mail them and ask what equipment they use.

Kind Regards,

Chris

[Enza3D]

Formlabs resin can be printed on any SLA or DLP style printer; Formlabs will most likely recommend the Form2, which is the printer I use. I highly recommend it.

[Matt_Chroust]

Sterilization like for a medical device?

I think this is something you’re going to have to experiment with. Radiation (Gamma or E-Beam) will cause embrittlement and color changes in most plastics as there’s a lot of cross linking of polymer structures. Some people tint polycarbonate plastic an ice blue color because it will turn a sickly yellow otherwise.

I can’t offer anything about Ethelene Oxide except it’s not very practical in small batches, and autoclave is probably not an option for any thermoplastic you can print.

Regards,

Matt

[Perry_1]

Contact Taulman 3D directly and discuss your plans with them.

[Enza3D]

As others here have said, SLA or DLP is far better than FDM printing if you want to reduce surface defects. FDM will leave large spaces for contaminants and bacteria to grow within, but the resin produces a much smoother surface at a microscopic level.

[mrtaro]

i just noticed that we have a Form2 in our lab … initially i used PC-ISO…

[RSAndrews]

Hi, I know for a fact that you can use PA2200 which is a nylon powder used on EOS Printers. This material can be sterilised, using various methods. Definitely worth looking into, but you may want to have a look around because if it is going to be in contact with an open wound you will want to make sure the manufacturers have the relevant certificates and conform to standards.

[caizio]

We’re currently working with both ABS and PETG for a blood-contacting device that will be sterilized prior to packaging. So, we’re needing both sterilizability and hemocompatibility. Depending on your final application, you may want to look at PETG, it’s compatible with both gamma irradiation and EtO (ethylene oxide) sterilization methods. If you need to go with autoclaving, then you may want to look at nylon as it can handle the higher temperature.

[mrtaro]

Going forward in my project, autoclave seems like one essential requirement… I will definitely look at the possibility to manufacture using Nylon.

Thank you for the input

[mrtaro]

We decided t go with Autoclave. That forces us to look into Nylon or other material than can handle autoclave temperature.

[mrtaro]

Is the material also bio-compatible? (can come in contact with tissue)

[caizio]

As mentioned, Taulman’s Nylon 680 is one of your best options - Nylon 680 Spec

It’s FDA approved and autoclavable, but may not be approved for your particular use. Taulman may have additional info that may help you decide.

[mrtaro]

Thank you for the input.

The only medical grade (bio-compatible) material i find from Taulman is Guidel!ne.

And it seems like you can not autoclave it…

[mrtaro]

Yes! PA2201 and 2200 is biocompatible according to ISO10993 and you can autoclave it.

Thank you for the input. I will check what degree of bio-compatibility is needed exactly for my device.

Also “EOS PEEK HP3” seems like a possible choice.

[RSAndrews]

It’s not a problem, I know that PA2200 can be used in making medical cutting guides, but if you are looking for a material that is implantable you would have to run tests and studies.