The industry is finally becoming comfortable with the fundamental differences of metal AM, especially processes like DMLS. Everyone using metal 3D printing in orthopedic manufacturing pretty much uses DMLS. Because that process has been around for 30 years, a great deal of research has gone into establishing and proving process and part quality. A decade ago it was more like the wild west; there was no official voice in the FDA weighing in. Back then the mindset was basically “Who wants to be the first victim to have metal 3D printed hip implanted?”
Now the opinion of “I don’t want anything except a metal 3D printed hip implanted, it’s completely customized to my body” is beginning to prevail. That shift has been happening over the last decade. Designers see metal AM as another tool in the toolkit. They’re happy to design for it and the trepidation about using metal 3D printing has mostly faded.
Read the full article, Someday My Prints Will Come: Additive Manufacturing Insights
