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. 2014 Nov 27:4:6973.
doi: 10.1038/srep06973.

Fabrication of low cost soft tissue prostheses with the desktop 3D printer

Yong He  1 , Guang-huai Xue  1 , Jian-zhong Fu  1
Affiliations

Fabrication of low cost soft tissue prostheses with the desktop 3D printer

Yong He et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Soft tissue prostheses such as artificial ear, eye and nose are widely used in the maxillofacial rehabilitation. In this report we demonstrate how to fabricate soft prostheses mold with a low cost desktop 3D printer. The fabrication method used is referred to as Scanning Printing Polishing Casting (SPPC). Firstly the anatomy is scanned with a 3D scanner, then a tissue casting mold is designed on computer and printed with a desktop 3D printer. Subsequently, a chemical polishing method is used to polish the casting mold by removing the staircase effect and acquiring a smooth surface. Finally, the last step is to cast medical grade silicone into the mold. After the silicone is cured, the fine soft prostheses can be removed from the mold. Utilizing the SPPC method, soft prostheses with smooth surface and complicated structure can be fabricated at a low cost. Accordingly, the total cost of fabricating ear prosthesis is about $30, which is much lower than the current soft prostheses fabrication methods.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Staircase behavior in 3D printing (Ear negative mold, layer height 0.3 mm, taken by the author, Guang-huai Xue).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Typical SPPC process (All photographs were taken by the author, Guang-huai Xue).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Polishing device (Taken by the author, Guang-huai Xue).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Working principle of polishing device.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Box mold (standard sample) for studying polishing effect (Taken by the author, Guang-huai Xue).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Surface quality changing over time, 0.2 mm layer-high (a) sample wall, (b) sample bottom.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Surface roughness of 0.2 mm layer-high samples change over polish time.
Figure 8
Figure 8. Surface roughness of different layer high samples change over polish time, (a) Ra, (b) Rz.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Silicone ear (a) Unpolished mold (b) Polished mold (c) Ear casted with unpolished mold (d) Ear casted with polished mold (e) fine silicone ear (All photographs were taken by the author, Guang-huai Xue).
Figure 10
Figure 10. Parting fabricating of hand prosthesis (All photographs were taken by the author, Guang-huai Xue).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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