ABSTRACT
Additive manufacturing (AM) is a kind of manufacturing process controlled by a computer that creates three-dimensional objects by depositing materials layer by layer. There are a variety of processes in which the process is classified according to the fusion of material as melting, sintering, and photopolymerization. The classification reveals the following types of additive manufacturing processes: material extrusion, binder jet process, powder bed, VAT polymerization, sheet lamination process, direct metal energy deposition, and wire arc additive manufacturing. The generally used metals, composites, and polymers in this process are titanium, steel, cobalt, zirconium, gold, PLA, ABS, PVC, PU, nylon, fibre, bakelite, and delrin. The above processes are adopted to manufacture components in aerospace, automobile, electronics, medical, defence, and agriculture. This chapter discusses the equipment and instruments in health care as well as prosthetics and orthotics for humans.
The few equipment and instruments in the medical domain are listed as glaucoma screener, endotracheal tube, smart stethoscope, hybrid splint, menstrual cup, customized shoe insole, scaffold for diabetic foot ulcer, screener for diabetic foot, surgical guides, and sports helmet. The few prosthetics and orthotics are listed as knee and ankle prosthesis, mandible, hip joint, spinal joint, dentures and implants, aortic branches, artificial cornea, nose and hearing aids, and myoelectric hand, high-end respiratory face masks, artery, vascularization. The selection of material and process is carried out as per the functional requirement in the medical applications. There is a need for material and process for the medical component and detailed manufacturing steps of identified medical components.
