DE102018116314A1 - Construction platform and method for the generative production of a component, in particular a medical product such as an implant - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a construction platform (1) for producing a medical product (14), in particular an implant (14), by means of generative / additive manufacturing processes, with at least one surface area as a carrier surface (8) for the additively constructed medical product (14), which is used for training a solid connection is formed with the generatively constructed material, the construction platform (1) having a base support (2) and at least one production support (3) detachably connected to the base support (2), which has the support surface (8) for the additively constructed medical product (14). It also relates to a method for producing a medical product (14) by means of such a construction platform (1).

Description

The present invention relates to a construction platform for producing a component, in particular a medical product, in particular an implant, by means of generative / additive manufacturing methods, with at least one surface area as a support surface for the component to be constructed generatively, which is designed to form a firm connection with the generatively constructed material , It also relates to a method for producing a component, in particular a medical product, in particular an implant, in which the component is built additively / additively on a construction platform with at least one surface area as a carrier surface for the component to be built additively.

State of the art

Generative manufacturing, also referred to as additive manufacturing, of different components is generally known from the prior art. The components, for example models, samples, prototypes, tools or end products, are usually computer-controlled based on data models made from informal raw material, for example in the form of liquid, gel, paste, powder or the like, or from neutral raw material, for example from band-shaped or wire-shaped material, by means of chemical and / or physical processes.

In the production of additively manufactured components, the starting material is applied to a building platform and thereby and / or subsequently solidified according to the desired shape. The material applied and solidified on the construction platform and thus also the generated workpiece adhere to the construction platform after the construction process. While the workpieces can be detached from the construction platform in some additive manufacturing processes such as FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) by rinsing out a carrier material, the separation in other additive manufacturing processes, such as in particular laser sintering (SLS), laser melting (SLM) / laser cusing or electron beam melting (EBM), more complex and only possible with relatively great effort. This is partly due to the fact that the connection between the component and the construction platform must be designed and designed so stably due to thermal stresses that arise in the construction process that the component built on the construction platform securely adheres to it and at least during the entire duration of the construction process and an unwanted one Loosening is avoided. Special effort arises from the fact that building platforms are often used on which a plurality of components are built. Some of the components are sensitive to shocks and can only be separated from the construction platform by a further work step, taking care not to damage any adjacent components.

To detach the additively generated component from the construction platform, chipping, manual breaking, sawing, eroding, in particular wire erosion, or milling are known. In contrast, separating processes that require a focus, such as laser or water jet cutting, are not or at least less suitable.

Chiseling the additively produced component off the construction platform is unsuitable in the case of critical functional components or delicate parts, since there is a risk of damaging the component. Manual termination only works in a few cases, since the components are sometimes very firmly connected to the construction platform due to the thermal stresses that occur. Wire erosion is suitable as a method since the components fall into a water tank of the system after loosening at uncritical speed, which makes wire erosion particularly suitable for sensitive and shock-sensitive components. However, the wire erosion process is usually extremely time-consuming and therefore costly. It is generally possible to saw off the components from the platform, but this usually represents an additional work step with a corresponding increase in the throughput time. Depending on the size of the construction platform, only band or hacksaws can be used. Such commercially available saws, which are designed for this task, work disadvantageously, as a rule, with a vertical cut, which means that sawn-off components can fall down and possibly get defects. Finally, milling is fundamentally suitable for separating the generatively generated component and construction platform and is particularly suitable for components that have to be milled after the generative generation anyway. However, milling is disadvantageous in the case of several additively generated components on a single construction platform, since the different components do not allow unhindered movement of the tool, in particular in the case of five-axis milling, and can be in the travel path of the tool, so that collisions can occur.

Brief description of the invention

The invention has for its object to provide a construction platform and a method for producing components, in particular medical devices such as implants, by means of generative / additive manufacturing methods, which at least partially eliminates the disadvantages described above. The invention is particularly the object the basis is to provide a flexibly usable construction platform and a method in which the components produced and adhering to or connected to the carrier surface of the construction platform can be separated from the construction platform simply and safely. Preferably, the separation of the component and the carrier surface should be able to be integrated into a subsequent process, that is to say after the additive manufacturing process. In addition, manufacturing effort and costs should be as low as possible, both with regard to the construction platform itself and with regard to the components to be produced with it.

This object is achieved according to the invention with regard to a device by a construction platform according to claim 1, in particular by a construction platform for producing a component, in particular a medical device, such as an implant, by means of generative / additive manufacturing processes, with at least one surface area as the carrier surface for the additive component / medical device that is designed to form a solid, in particular material connection with the additive material, the construction platform having a base support and at least one production support that is detachably connected to the base support and that has the support surface for the additive component / Has and / or trains medical device and / or makes it available.

With regard to a method, the object is achieved by a method according to claim 8, in particular by a method for producing a component, in particular a medical product, such as an implant, in which the component / medical product is additive / additive on a construction platform according to the invention , in particular on a construction platform according to one of the appended claims, in particular on a construction platform with at least one surface area as a support surface for the additive component / medical device to be built, the construction platform having and / or forming a base support and at least one production support detachably connected to the base support and / or provides.

The invention enables a modular construction platform, with the base support of which a production support or in particular a plurality of production supports can be releasably connected or is connected. The carrier surface on which the component to be generated generatively is built is part of the production carrier. It can therefore also be detached from the basic carrier. The component is generatively generated / built on the carrier surface of the production carrier. The invention has the advantage that a component built on the carrier surface can be detached and removed from the construction platform and the additive building machine by simply detaching and removing the production carrier having the carrier surface from the base carrier. The basic carrier can then simply remain on the machine or be prepared for subsequent uses. The component can then be fed together with the production carrier adhering to it for further processing, for example a separate separation process and / or further processing or post-processing, such as machining.

The fact that the separation of the additively generated component from the construction platform can be integrated into an already necessary subsequent process by the invention saves costs and lead time in production in an advantageous manner. A particular advantage of the invention is that the construction platform can be adapted particularly easily to the respective component and a subsequent manufacturing process. In addition, the production carrier is an excellent handling device for handling the additively produced component, both during subsequent production steps and during transport processes and storage processes in between.

Another advantage of the invention is that the flatness of the construction platform, here in particular the base support, which is particularly important in the generative production of the components, is not impaired by the separation of the components produced from the support surface. This is due to the fact that the basic carrier does not have to be reworked after the generative generation and separation of the components and therefore always has the same initial state. In conventional platforms, after the component has been separated from the carrier surface, there is always a remainder of the component that must be removed separately by reworking the construction platform, which can sometimes result in unevenness in the carrier surface, which can prevent the platform from being coated evenly with powder , Another disadvantage associated with this reworking, the so-called repositioning, is that conventional building platforms become thinner over time as a result of repositioning. In the invention, only the manufacturing supports have to be replaced as wearing parts.

Another advantage of the invention lies in the extremely low costs: due to the thermal expansion of the additive material applied to the support surface in the construction process, it is necessary that the support surface consists of the same or at least one same material with similar thermal expansion properties as the component subsequently produced on it , This leads to high ones, especially with expensive materials such as titanium Cost of known building platforms. Due to the modular construction of the construction platform according to the invention consisting of the basic carrier and the manufacturing carrier (s), only the manufacturing carrier has to consist of such a cost-intensive material, while the basic carrier can consist of a cheap material.

It is also advantageous that the invention enables a particularly good availability of the base plate, which is ready for use again immediately after the removal of the production carrier.

With regard to the production of additively produced components, the invention has the advantage, among other things, that the construction platform and the base support can be designed mainly or exclusively with regard to the additive manufacturing process. The manufacturing support, however, can be designed for both additive manufacturing and subsequent manufacturing process steps. For example, in the case of a component which is subsequently further processed by turning, the production carrier can be designed with a round outer contour or a machine holder. The workpiece which is additively produced on the carrier surface of the production carrier and adheres to it can be clamped particularly easily for post-processing, which is particularly advantageous in the case of filigree components which do not have any structures that can be clamped. An additional, often cost-intensive work step can be omitted in many cases. Another advantage is that if heat treatment of the additively produced component is required, the production carrier with the component adhering to it can be placed in the oven to save space.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are also claimed in the subclaims and are explained in more detail below.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the base carrier has at least one receptacle for fixing the production carrier essentially without play. In particular, a recess of corresponding shape can be made in the base carrier, in which the production carrier can be introduced, for example, inserted as a type of insert. The production carrier can thus be arranged in a particularly simple manner in a defined position and / or position on the base carrier, which enables the component to be constructed with a defined position and / or position on the production carrier relative to the latter. This is particularly advantageous in cases in which the assembled component is subjected to further manufacturing steps after the additive manufacturing, for example a machining process such as turning or milling. In this case, the component built up on the production carrier at a defined location / position can remain on the production carrier for further processing, this forming a kind of handle or support for the component.

The receptacle can, in particular, be designed to at least partially accommodate the production carrier. The production carrier can have a coupling structure which interacts with the base carrier, for example in the form of a coupling piece which can interact and be coupled with a coupling receptacle of the base carrier provided for this purpose. The connection / coupling of the basic carrier and the manufacturing carrier can be carried out by positive locking or non-positive locking. For example, the production support can be screwed into the base support against a stop that determines a defined position relative to the base support. Alternatively, the production and base carriers can / are coupled to one another by means of a bayonet catch or the production carrier can be / are clamped in its intended position relative to the base carrier. The production carrier can be fixed to the base carrier by means of mechanical, hydraulic and / or pneumatic clamping. A particularly simple non-positive arrangement results from magnetic means, so that the production carrier is held on the base carrier as a result of magnetic forces. According to a particularly simple embodiment, the production carrier is held in the base carrier by the action of gravity.

According to one embodiment, the production carrier can preferably be removed from the receptacle without tools. This enables a particularly simple and quick assembly of the basic carrier with one or more production carriers as well as a particularly quick and easy removal of the production carrier with the component built thereon from the basic carrier.

It is also particularly advantageous if the base carrier and the production carrier (s) form an essentially flat surface in the assembled state. The carrier surface of the production carrier and the surface of the base carrier facing the installation space preferably lie in one plane. This enables a simple application of building material, for example in the form of powder, and a simple uniform coating / uniform layer formation during the generative construction of the component. This also ensures that the carrier surface is always in a defined position relative to the base carrier during the generative process, which simplifies the control and programming of the generative process.

It is particularly favorable if the production carrier is used as a holder for further processing of the component / medical device. The production support forms a kind of support for the additively constructed component on which it is arranged and / or held and / or fixed during some or all of the subsequent production steps. It is particularly advantageous that the position and / or position of the assembled component relative to the production carrier is and remains known, so that when the position / position of the production carrier is defined (similar to a tool holder), the position / position of the additively constructed component to be machined is always also known it is known what enables simple control and / or programming of subsequent manufacturing processes.

The additive manufacturing process can in particular be a laser sintering process, a laser melting process, a laser cusing process or an electron beam melting process. An embodiment of the construction platform is characterized in that at least the production carrier is made of a material that is suitable as a generative production method for forming a carrier surface for a laser sintering method, a laser melting method, a laser cusing method or an electron beam melting method. The production carrier can in particular consist of metal, preferably titanium or a titanium alloy. In particular, the production carrier can consist of the same or the same material with similar properties as the material of the component, which enables a particularly low-stress generative generation of the component. A great advantage is that the basic carrier can consist of a less high-quality and cheaper material, a material that is common for such tools, such as cast iron or structural steel. This enables an extremely cost-effective and maintenance-friendly construction platform.

An embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that the production carrier is detached from the base carrier after the additive construction of the component / medical product, in particular for post-processing / further processing of the production carrier with the component / medical product built thereon. Alternatively, the production carrier and the component / medical device built on it can remain connected to one another for post-processing / further processing. For this purpose, after the generative generation, the so-called construction job, the component together with the production carrier / insert can be separated from the base carrier, for example by hand, by manually releasing the non-positive and / or form-fitting coupling / connection of the base carrier and production carrier and the production carrier is removed from the base carrier, for example is pulled out of a receptacle of the base carrier.

According to the invention, the component and the production carrier can be separated, in particular by means of a machining process, in particular by turning. It is particularly advantageous that the detachment of the component from the production support can be integrated in a further processing of the component, which is carried out anyway, which is extremely efficient.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, a hip cup is built up as a component on a production carrier. For this purpose, a production carrier or a plurality of production carriers is introduced into the basic carrier designed as a base platform. The shape of the production carrier is essentially cylindrical. The implants are built up concentrically on this cylinder. In a subsequent turning process, the unit consisting of the production carrier and the hip cup built thereon is clamped to the production carrier and the additively constructed hip cup is tapped. A turning process is necessary anyway due to the highly precise inner contour, so that the process is extremely efficient. The additional parting off only takes approx. 30-40 seconds per component. Without the modular construction platform according to the invention, the hip cups would have to be removed from the construction platform by eroding, which would take around 30 minutes to convert to one component.

To summarize, it can be said that the construction platform can be adapted in generative / additive processes such as laser sintering etc. to the component to be manufactured and, if necessary, subsequent work steps. Throughput time and manufacturing costs are saved in the additive process and any subsequent processes.

list of figures

• 1 eine perspektivische Ansicht einer Bauplattform nach der Erfindung und
• 2 eine Schnittansicht der Bauplattform der 1 entlang der Linie II-II.

The invention is explained in more detail below by way of example with the aid of drawings. It shows:

• 1 a perspective view of a construction platform according to the invention and
• 2 a sectional view of the construction platform of the 1 along the line II-II.

figure description

The drawings are only schematic in nature and are only for understanding the invention.

1 shows a construction platform 1 according to the invention. This includes a basic carrier 2 and a total of nine production vehicles 3 , In the basic rack 2 are a total of nine recesses 4 introduced, one each for receiving a production carrier 3 in this. The manufacturing company 3 are each identical, so that in the following only one production carrier 3 is described, but this description applies to all production vehicles 3 true.

The basic carrier 2 is cuboid in the present case. It has a flat surface on the installation space side 5 , in the recesses in each corner area 6 are introduced, for receiving clamping means, not shown in the figures, for example screws, in order to arrange and hold the base support on a machine for the generative production of components.

The manufacturing company 3 has a cylindrical construction section 7 with a flat support surface 8th on. On the of the support surface 8th opposite side of the construction section 7 the production carrier comprises a coupling structure 9 , here in the form of a tool holder 9 that is trained and suitable to the manufacturing company 3 in a tool holder of a processing machine, such as a lathe or milling machine.

The manufacturing company 3 is in the recess 4 of the basic carrier 2 over a peripheral surface 10 centered. In the present exemplary embodiment, this is the peripheral surface 10 on the coupling structure 9 educated. A peripheral area 11 of the construction section 7 points towards a side wall 12 the recess 4 a certain radial play 13 to allow expansion due to temperature changes during the generative construction of a component. In 2 it is clearly shown that the support surface 8th of the manufacturing company 3 and the surface on the installation space side 5 of the basic carrier with the intended arrangement of the production carrier in the receptacle 4 lie in a plane that forms a reference plane for the generative building process.

As an example of a generative component, the figures additively point to the support surface 8th applied rings 14 that are concentric to the production carrier 3 or to its central axis 15 are arranged.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

building platform

2

base support

3

production support

4

recess

5

surface

6

deepening

7

Configuration section

8th

support surface

9

Coupling structure, tool holder

10

peripheral surface

11

peripheral surface

12

Side wall

13

radial clearance

14

ring

15

central axis

Claims (13)

Construction platform (1) for producing a component (14), in particular a medical product (14) such as an implant (14), by means of generative / additive manufacturing processes, with at least one surface area as a carrier surface (8) for the component (14) to be constructed additively , which is designed to form a firm connection with the generatively constructed material, characterized in that the building platform (1) has a base support (2) and at least one production support (3) detachably connected to the base support (2), which supports the support surface ( 8) for the additive component (14). Construction platform (1) after Claim 1 , characterized in that the base carrier (2) has at least one receptacle (4) in the form of a recess / recess / depression on an upper side of the plate-like base carrier (2), into which the likewise plate-like production carrier (3) is preferably inserted without play. Construction platform (1) after Claim 2 , characterized in that the receptacle (4) is designed to at least partially accommodate the production support (3), which preferably consists of a material different from the material of the base support (2). Construction platform (1) after Claim 2 or 3 , characterized in that the production carrier (3) can be removed from the receptacle (4) without tools. Construction platform (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base support (2) and the production support (3) form an essentially flat surface (8, 5) in the assembled state. Construction platform (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the production carrier (3) is designed as a holder for further processing of the component (14). Construction platform (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least the production support (3) is made of a material which is used to form a support surface (8) for a laser sintering process, a laser melting process, a laser cusing process or an electron beam melting process is suitable as a generative manufacturing process. Construction platform (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least the production carrier (3) consists of metal. Method for producing a component (14), in particular a medical product (14) such as an implant (14), in which the component (14) is additive / additive on a construction platform (1) with at least one surface area as a support surface (8) for the add-on component (14) is constructed, characterized in that the construction platform (1) has a base support (2) and at least one production support (3) detachably connected to the base support (2), the construction platform (1) in particular according to a of the preceding claims. Procedure according to Claim 9 , characterized in that the production support (3) is detached from the base support (2) after the additive construction of the component (14), in particular for post-processing of the production support (3) with the component (14) built thereon from the base support (2 ) is solved. Procedure according to Claim 9 or 10 , characterized in that the production carrier (3) and the component (14) built thereon remain connected to one another for post-processing. Procedure according to Claim 9 or 10 , characterized in that the component (14) is detached from the production carrier (3) by means of a machining process, in particular by turning. Procedure according to one of the Claims 9 to 12 , characterized in that the additive manufacturing process is a laser sintering process, a laser melting process, a Lasercusing process or an electron beam melting process.

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