Pushing the frontiers of additive knowledge
March 1, 2021 | Lincotek strongly believe in strategic partnerships between universities and industry to push for innovation and economic growth. This is why Lincotek Additive is participating in the 2021 edition of the PROTO Challenge, an initiative part of the European project INNOADDITIVE and organised by HIT – Hub Innovazione Trentino. Five teams will have eleven weeks to work about their Additive Manufacturing (AM) project to present the final study and prototypes on May 26 when the best project will be awarded.
The Challenge enables to explore the benefits of mechanical design with advanced software to improve a product’s performance, while demonstrating the full benefit of AM technology, as opposed to other manufacturing approaches.
The aim of the contest is to match forward-thinking companies in the areas of additive manufacturing with groups of students, who use their talent and insight to redesign real products or components – either metal or plastic – with related challenges and objectives with regard to optimization and boundary conditions.
Lincotek is participating in the PROTO challenge with customized 3D models of a prototype of a prosthetic implant and its porous structure. The implant, in titanium alloy, is custom-made for specific patients and loads and forces are distributed to reflect the human body
What is expected from the team is to optimize the gradient of the porosity, in order to fit to different tissues and device geometry, while also considering the link between the porous layers and the substrate in order to avoid cracks. Moreover, the bulky geometry needs to be optimized in order to decrease the total weight of the device. These requirements are tightly linked to the need to launch the manufacturing of the product in a short time due to hospital requests.
The students are being supported by a representative of Lincotek, as well as a software expert and a university tutor. We are committed to printing one or more prototypes to support the development and look forward to reporting on success. The teams are already well under way. We think that the results they’ll show us will be nothing short of amazing!
And now… may the best team win!
