Medical Device Manufacturer 3D Printing Buyer’s Guide

The stakes are high in the medical device manufacturer field. Innovation saves lives but the product development cycle is long, costly and full of risks for developers.

Medical device manufacturing challenges

Medical device manufacturers have four main goals:

1. Accelerate time to market
2. Optimize product design
3. Elevate cost efficiencies
4. Reduce development risks.

Adding further to the challenges is finding a testing model that simulates the pathology or range of pathologies needed for testing.

Despite the challenges, there is still a need to meet all of the requirements of a complex development process including verifying designs and validating the performance of devices to ensure the product meets clinical expectations.

Shortening the development cycle while also reducing the risk of design failure requires a nimble prototyping and manufacturing process. And, while these goals can be achieved – at what cost are you speeding your design to market?

Medical device manufacturers often outsource their prototype fabrication, but this can generate its own challenges, namely the circulation of proprietary design information, as well as placement in scheduling queues, end-to-end production timelines, and cost. Even when designed in-house, developers can struggle with benchmarks that replicate the way the product will be used and addresses the pathology targeted.

Clinical trials requiring small production runs can encounter frequent delays due to tooling lead times. Add to that the cost of producing small runs and the associated time delays for more challenges.

Solving the medical device manufacturing challenges

But there is a solution to the challenges medical device manufacturers face in delivering their products to market. This process is additive manufacturing or 3D printing. 3D printing helps manufacturers achieve clear, detailed physician feedback as well as eliminate failures faster.

Learn more in this white paper

Download the white paper to learn how medical device manufacturers are using 3D printers to get their products to market. The white paper includes:

• What is 3D Printing and How Can it Help?
• 3D Printing Technologies
• Materials
• Building the Business Case for 3D Printing
• The Stratasys Solution