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US 2022/0032003 A1Published application
Systems and methods for manufacturing 3d printed medical devices
AssigneeMedtronic, Inc.
InventorsJonathan E. Baxter, Kristin M. Johnson, Gregory N. Nesseth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods of manufacturing 3D printed medical devices. The method includes feeding a first filament and a second filament into an interior cavity of a heating cartridge and melting each of the filaments on a substrate. The heating cartridge is then moved linearly and rotationally relative to the substrate to form a jacket including material from each of the first and second filaments. Further, rotating the substrate provides a uniform mixture and creates support rings between the filament materials within the structure of the jacket.
Claims18
An additive manufacturing system comprising:
- a heating cartridge extending from a proximal side to a distal side and comprising a substrate inlet port at the proximal side and a substrate outlet port at the distal side, the heating cartridge defining an interior volume and a substrate channel extending through the interior volume from the proximal side to the distal side, wherein the heating cartridge defines a first filament port in fluid communication with the interior volume to receive the first filament and a second filament port in fluid communication with the interior volume to receive the second filament;
- a heating element thermally coupled to the heating cartridge to heat the interior volume;
- a filament handling system comprising one or more motors to feed at least a first filament through the first filament port and a second filament through the second filament port into the interior volume;
- a substrate handling system comprising:
- a head stock comprising a distal clamp to secure a distal portion of an elongate substrate, wherein the elongate substrate is positioned to pass through the substrate channel along a longitudinal direction when secured by the head stock;
- and
- one or more motors to translate or rotate one or both of the elongate substrate when secured by the head stock and the heating cartridge relative to one another;
- and
- a controller operably coupled to the heating element, one or more motors of the filament handling system, and one or more motors of the substrate handling system, the controller configured to:
- control the one or more motors of the filament handling system to selectively control the feeding of the first filament and the second filament into the interior volume;
- activate the heating element to melt any portion of the first filament or the second filament in the interior volume;
- and
- control one or more motors of the substrate handling system to move one or both of the elongate substrate and the heating cartridge relative to one another in a longitudinal direction to form an elongate catheter jacket around the elongate substrate, wherein the catheter jacket comprises material from at least the first filament and the second filament;
- and
- control one or more motors of the substrate handling system to move one or both of the elongate substrate and the heating cartridge relative to one another in a rotational direction about the longitudinal direction such that the first and second filaments create discrete rings.
12 more elements
A method for additive manufacturing of an implantable medical device, the method comprising:
- feeding a substrate through a substrate channel in a heating cartridge along a longitudinal axis, the substrate channel in fluid communication with an interior cavity of the heating cartridge;
- feeding a first filament through a filament port into the interior cavity;
- feeding a second filament through another filament port into the interior cavity;
- melting the first and second filaments in the interior cavity;
- moving the heating cartridge relative to the substrate at least in a longitudinal direction to form a catheter jacket comprising material from at least the first and second filaments;
- and
- moving the heating cartridge relative to the substrate in a rotational direction about the longitudinal axis such that the first and second filaments create discrete rings in forming the catheter jacket.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.