Henkel and Nexa3D teamed up with French start-up WeMed for the production of additively manufactured connected stethoscope for telemedicine.
The combination of Nexa's technology and Henkel's materials enables production volumes of more than 100,000 units per annum.
Nexa3D, maker of polymer 3D printers, has partnered with Henkel to produce the world's first additively manufactured connected SKOP stethoscope for WeMed, according to a spokesperson.
Based on biomimicry design and produced on the NXE400 ultrafast 3D printer using performance matched Henkel materials, the WeMed SKOP is a connected stethoscope additively manufactured in its entirety at scale with production volumes to exceed 100,000 units per annum.
Born during the COVID-19 health crisis, French start-up WeMed saw an opportunity to quickly respond to accelerating demand for new diagnostic medical devices that support teleconsulting and remote monitoring. Nexa3D and Henkel came together with French contract manufacturing provider Third to help WeMed develop, manufacture and launch its new product.
The SKOP is a medical device for remote auscultation. It provides excellent listening quality, essential for emergency situations and for isolated patients. SKOP takes inspiration from nature, using a biomimetic design based on the human ear to maximize performance. The SKOP geometry can only be additively manufactured using ultrafast 3D printing.
"This project highlights the inherent advantages of our ultrafast additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities," explained Kevin McAlea, COO of Nexa3D. "The ability to perform rapid design iterations and design-based materials performance and color optimization, without any traditional manufacturing design constraints, was essential to bringing this game-changing product to market quickly. Our printers were selected not only for the ability to produce high quality parts, but for the speed and significant economic advantage they provide. Nexa3D's 20x productivity advantage means our customers can manufacture products at unmatched speed, helping businesses like WeMed make a real difference."
"Leveraging our expanding product development and go-to-market partnership, we quickly developed a series of manufacturing-optimized, customized color and performance-matched materials for the SKOP in 30 days," said Simon Mawson, Senior Vice President and global head of 3D printing at Henkel. "Our combined capabilities and close cooperation between Nexa3D and Henkel is open to all product companies, and we invite them to work with us through every phase of their project from design, decision, support and optimization to full scale AM operations including material formulation customization, color matching and a variety of finishing options."
For more information contact:
Henkel
loctite3dp@henkel.com
www.loctiteam.com
www.henkel.com
Nexa3D
805-364-5441
sales@nexa3d.com
www.nexa3d.com