3D Printing News Roundup: OESH Shoes, Materialise, Prodways

Sep 12, 2017 | By David

Here’s another 3D printing news round-up, in case you’ve missed anything recently. Stories include National Science Foundation Grant awarded to OESH Shoes, Materialise's 3D printed jaw implants finally hitting the U.S market, and more besides.

NSF grant awarded to OESH Shoes for 3D printed footwear process

Charlottesville-based OESH Shoes has been awarded a major grant from the National Science Foundation. The company will be receiving a Small Business Innovative Research Phase II Grant to finalize the development of its patent pending pellet-based 3D printing process, which is poised to revolutionize footwear manufacturing.

OESH Shoes, a subsidiary of JKM Technologies, LLC, was founded by Casey Kerrigan, and has been making and selling comfortable, uniquely designed shoes for women since 2011. The design of the shoes draws on Kerrigan’s research on biomechanics and gait, which she performed at the University of Virginia when she was professor and chair in the School of Medicine, as well as at Harvard Medical School where she received her M.D.

The shoes are made from a complex blend of engineered elastomer materials that are designed to work in sync with the body to minimize loads on joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons while maximizing performance. A range of different shoes are being produced for consumers, and the grant will be used to develop new prototypes as well as to scale up production to meet the increasing demand for personalized footwear.

Materialise’s 3D printed titanium maxillofacial implants to hit market

U.S patients will soon be benefitting from Materialise’s impressive range of 3D printed titanium maxillofacial implants, which will be distributed by J&J's DePuy Synthes. The TRUMATCH implants are custom-made for a patient’s specific requirements, and have been made available previously in other parts of the world. DePuy Synthes, which is a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, will begin marketing of the implants in mid-September.

Orthognathic surgery, also known as corrective jaw surgery, is a particular speciality of Materialise. The Belgiam-based company offers these 3D printed titanium implants, which are based on CT scans of a patient’s skull, as part of a total solution. This also includes virtual surgical planning as well as 3D printed surgical guides. This seamless integration of different parts of the surgical process is a real boon for the medical industry, simplifying otherwise tricky treatments as well as making them cheaper and more effective.

Great success has already been achieved in the European and Australian markets since it was first introduced in 2016. According to Dr. Thomas Schouman, CMF surgeon at Groupe Hospitalier Pitié Salpêtrière, France, ‘‘For seven years now I’ve experienced the benefits of 3D-printed implants firsthand – they simplify maxillofacial surgery and allow me to perform procedures more accurately, saving time in the OR and improving patient outcomes. Moreover, they offer new treatment possibilities, allowing me to perform more complex surgeries or multiple procedures in a single intervention whereas without the implants several interventions would be necessary.”

French 3D printing company Prodways announces reduced losses

Based in France, Prodways provides 3D printing services for a variety of different sectors. It recently acquired auditory device company Interson-Protac, as well as industrial supplier AvenAo, and the company recently announced some promising financial results that point towards a successful future.

Prodways, which is a subsidiary wholly owned by Group Gorge, announced that the first half of 2017 saw a loss of 2.9 million Euros. In perspective, this is good news for the company, as losses were 4.6 million Euros for the same period last year. The company is hoping to break even by the end of 2018.

Total consolidated sales for this same period were 14.6 million Euros, which was an increase of 18.2 percent over the same period last year. The company’s new ProMaker P1000 3D printer, part of the Systems division, didn’t sell in the quantities initially expected due to a slowdown of marketing efforts in order to improve the machine’s reliability. The Products division made some serious advances, enabling the company to post significantly higher growth than others in the same sector.

Posted in 3D Printer Company

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