ATERTOWN,MA-October7,2019-Markforged, the leading provider of metal and carbon fiber 3D printers

today announced surgical tool manufacturer Shukla Medical — a subsidiary of aerospace manufacturer S.S. White Technologies — saved $120,000 each year by utilizing their Markforged Metal X system to fabricate prototypes for their surgical instruments.

Known for their simple, intuitive designs, Shukla Medical’s products are engineered for orthopedic surgeons, and include time-saving features like quick-connections and multiple extraction options. The products need to be prototyped and tested by orthopedic implant surgeons before the final parts are manufactured, with surgeons checking for form and fit. Utilizing CNC machining, Shukla Medical often found that long lead times were presenting major slowdowns in iterating on prototypes and preventing them from quickly getting their product to market. 

Shukla Medical engineers purchased a 3D printer from Markforged in 2017 and used it to create functional prototypes out of carbon fiber for surgeons to check for form and fit. “We put a lot of load on our instruments, and carbon fiber gives them more stiffness so it doesn’t feel like a toy,” says Adam Gosik-Wolfe, Mechanical Engineer at Shukla Medical.

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Shukla Medical currently uses stainless steel when fabricating their end product, so the 17-4PH Stainless Steel material from Markforged proved to be the right option for prototyping. The team can conduct tests on the 3D printed metal prototype to verify and validate it, and surgeons can practice using it. “3D printing the prototype product helps our surgeons test the part in their hands before going into the operating room, so they already have the experience and confidence in the tool,” says Zack Sweitzer, Product Development Manager at Shukla Medical. The metal 3D printed prototypes have the look and feel of the final product, and are vastly different to the prototypes the surgeons are used to testing. “The Metal X has let us print more complicated parts to conform to implant geometry that would have otherwise been very expensive to machine,” said Gosik-Wolfe. “I think we are at the tip of the iceberg with what we will be able to make with the Metal X in the coming years.”