Title: The validation of injection moulding rapid tools applicable to the biomedical device industry

Authors: P. Hanniffy, K.F. Vaugh, T.O. Gloinn, C. Hayes, A. Klein

Addresses: School of Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. ' School of Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. ' School of Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. ' School of Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. ' School of Engineering, Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland

Abstract: Since the introduction of Rapid Tooling (RT) in the early 1990s; eliminating the costly and time consuming practice of machining metal tools and dies has been the goal of the industry. This demand for faster, less expensive, high-performance tooling solutions has resulted in more than a dozen processes being developed worldwide. Although only a minority of these have established commercial success, the EOS Gmbh and 3D systems Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) processes are the two major developers in this bracket. This paper presents an overview of the validation procedures currently associated with injection moulds for biomedical devices and considers if these procedures are applicable and indeed suitable for rapid tools.

Keywords: rapid tooling; RT; validation; selective laser sintering; SLS; injection moulding; biomedical devices; biomaterials.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNBM.2007.016521

International Journal of Nano and Biomaterials, 2007 Vol.1 No.1, pp.76 - 83

Published online: 07 Jan 2008 *

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