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Since the invention of 3D printing way back in the early s, this technology has been utilised to create almost everything including construction materials, automobile parts and even food and snacks.
One notable application of the 3d printing technology is in the field of pharmaceuticals. The technology also has benefits for pharmacists and medical practitioners. As of today, 3D printing has been a growing demand in the pharmaceutical industry.
However, the used and abused of 3D printed medicines has also been the subject of discussion nowadays. This is because it can also have some downsides. This blog post will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of 3D printing in the pharmaceutical industry. Read on below.
Benefits of 3D printing in the pharmaceutical field
3D printing has brought innovations in the pharmaceutical field. Here is a list of the few benefits offered by 3D printing.
Quicker pre-medical assessment of new drugs
3D printing has given pharmacists and medical engineers the ability to customised drugs by modifying the design straight to its CAD file. In this way, iterations can be made more quickly. These iterations are also a lot cheaper than the traditional way of manufacturing medicines.
For instance, tweaks or adjustments in the excipients, salt forms and dosages of the medicines can be made easily.
Chance for personalised medication
For patients with multiple diseases, a 3D printed pill such as a &#;polypill&#; can be used. Polypill contains multiple active ingredients that are combined into a single pill. This is used to treat different diseases.
Some pills are also designed to treat the disease of some particular patient. However, the patient&#;s age, weight or organ function must also be considered.
New formulations for improved drug
With the conventional method of producing medicines, some pills are difficult to swallow. But with 3D printing, pills can be designed according to a patient&#;s preferences.
For example, medical engineers can create a pill that can disintegrate rapidly in a patient&#;s mouth, thus, making it easier to take.
Spritam: First 3D printed drug
In , Aprecia was the first pharmaceutical brand to use 3D printing technology to produce a drug called Spritam. This drug is meant to treat symptoms of epilepsy such as onset seizures and myoclonic seizures.
When it was released, Spritam also received the necessary US FDA approval. The drug has a unique structure that dissolves significantly faster than the average pill.
On-demand pharmaceutical manufacturing
3D printing allows pharmacies and healthcare providers to print medicines on-demand instead of mass producing them. In this way, the pharmaceutical industries can revolutionise the supply chain. Therefore, lowering distribution costs.
Drawbacks of 3D printing in the pharmaceutical field
Though 3D printing technology has some benefits in the field of medicine, it also brings with it a few disadvantages. There are still many downsides that are not on this list. Nevertheless, here are some major drawbacks that pharmacies and medical practitioners should know about 3D printing.
Product liability risk
With 3D printing, pharmaceutical companies can authorise their blueprints to pharmacies and healthcare providers. Thus, they can now easily print drugs locally.
However, pharmaceutical companies cannot possibly oversee the efficiency of every 3D printing operation. Moreover, they need to consider the potential product liability implications.
According to the pharmaceutical companies&#; role in providing their product blueprint, they may be partially responsible for any undesirable incidents or product defect claims.
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Other parties involved such as the printer manufacturer, material supplier, software designer, and product manufacturer may also be liable for this fallout.
For pharmaceutical companies who are planning to venture into 3D printing, they should develop a policy for certifying their blueprints. In this way, they will ensure that they are financially and legally protected.
Cyber risk
The rapid increase in reproducing fake pills is one of the greatest concerns with 3D printing. Furthermore, 3D printers are now being used by hackers to produce counterfeit medicines faster than the traditional manufacturing method.
As an illustration, hackers who gain access to a medicine&#;s blueprint can mass-produce the drug overseas. This can exploit the intellectual property of the pharmaceutical company. Moreover, if the drug is improperly produced, it can cause harm to the patients. Thus, hitting the pharmaceutical company&#;s reputation and financial status.
Apart from that, hackers can also make modifications to the medicine&#;s ingredients or doses. This may lead to severe health consequences for the patients.
Safety and efficiency of 3D printers
The traditional way of mass-producing medicines is subject to intense supervision from authorised agencies such as FDA. This guarantees the company and the consumers that the products are manufactured carefully.
However, with 3D printing, the FDA cannot regulate every printing operation. Thus, determining how the product is developed may be questioned. Furthermore, with 3D printing, there is still a possibility of defective 3D printer and unnecessary printing failures.
Conclusion
3D printing has been an advanced technology in the field of medicine. It has the potential to open new doors in product development, manufacturing and product distribution. Aside from that, it allows the personalisation of medicine to be more accessible.
Apart from the benefits that are mentioned above, the downsides of 3D printing in this industry must also be considered. Nonetheless, for pharmaceutical companies who are considering 3D printing in the future, understanding the drawbacks that are listed above must be the priority.
If you are interested in 3D printing, don&#;t hesitate to ask for help from the experts. There is a 3D printing service provider in Sydney that can provide outstanding 3D printing services. These include custom 3D printing, 3D design and modelling, industrial 3D printing and many more.
Pros & Benefits of Metal 3D Printing
Like any technology, 3D printing of metal components has pros and cons, or advantages and disadvantages. The secret to success is to 1) understand the different metal 3D printing processes, 2) to know both when it is appropriate to use the technology to begin with (as opposed to traditional manufacturing) and 3) the applications that are ideal for the various metal AM processes. For example, metal printing is a good option for making extremely complex parts that need to be strong and lightweight. Most often, internal complexities such as conformal cooling channels are the types of geometries that make the most sense, as they cannot be created using traditional machining.
Another significant benefit of 3D printing metal parts is that the process in general does not create much waste. As much as 90% of CNC parts can be waste, whereas metal AM wastes less than 5% on average.
A third benefit of 3D metal printing has to do with its reliability. Although it may take a few attempts to find the best parameters, design, and orientation for building a part, once discovered (and documented), the process is tremendously consistent. This is especially true with 3DEO&#;s novel process. It will result in the same part every time, build after build. Although this may be assumed as a given for any manufacturing process, the predictability and efficiency of metal printing should never be overlooked.
There are also a lot of potential benefits with 3D printing when it comes to supply chain management. With 3D printing on demand, companies can now store their digital designs on computers and print components on demand, as needed for end use. This possibility could revolutionize supply chains.
Cons & Costs of 3D Metal Printing
The trade-offs with 3D metal printing are primarily speed and cost. In all likelihood, cost cannot be a primary motivator for those who want to pursue this technology. There are almost always ways to change designs for traditional manufacturing methods that can dramatically reduce cost. This is why the aerospace and automotive industries have been the most committed early adopters of the technology. The lightweight, complex designs and strong parts often translate well to their applications. For the last decade, demand for 3D metal printing has been driven by high-end applications.
Build times for 3D metal printing are much longer compared to most traditional manufacturing methods. It also typically requires several builds to fine tune a part&#;s design for mass production through 3D metal printing.
Materials for metal additive manufacturing can also be a limiting factor for manufacturers. Before committing to designing parts for metal printing, designers should consider the material that is preferred for the part. There is a very limited number of metals that can be printed on the market. In the most extreme cases, it can take years of research and effort to develop the process parameters for specified materials in certain machines. Processing parameters depend on the machine used, meaning there is no one-to-one comparison between two metals or materials.
Another design aspect to consider before going with choosing 3D metal printing is the desired surface finish. 3DEO has the best surface finish in the as-printed condition, but for most processes the surface finish of 3D printed part is poor due to it being built layer by layer. Most parts require post-machining on printed parts to get aesthetically pleasing surface finishes. This can be done using CNC machining or manual surface grinding, sanding, or polishing. Of course, a nice surface finish would be limited to areas accessible by finishing tools, and those can&#;t be areas where parts are too thin or complex.
Finally, size is the last limiting factor in metal 3D printing. Parts cannot be larger than the machine&#;s build platform, which varies from printer to printer. Although the build areas vary based on machine manufacturer, the most common dimensions are around 250 × 250 × 300 mm. Small machines have build platforms of roughly 100 × 100 × 80 mm and large machine platforms are roughly 400 × 400 × 380 mm. While larger build volumes are starting to be developed, these are the options today. 3DEO&#;s build size is 200 x 200 x 200 mm, with final part size 150 x 150 x 150 mm (after shrinkage of part due to sintering).
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