Titanium 3D Printing Gives Birth
to Groundbreaking Hearing Aids
Swiss hearing-aid manufacturer Phonak has launched a new titanium model that it says is the "tiniest custom instrument" it has ever produced, using 3D metal printing to manufacture the thin shell.
"The titanium shell is half as thin as traditional shells," says a company press release, "and the overall size is reduced significantly, increasing invisible-in-the-canal fit rate."
Here's a 1-min. YouTube video showing the titanium hearing-aid shell being printed.
Moog Blog Outlines Metal-AM
Opportunities
and Challenges
Titled, A New Way of Looking at Metal Additive Manufacturing Processes, this post by Moog principal engineer George Small describes the firm's storied and 15-plus-yr. history with 3D metal-printing technology, then defines several opportunities/benefits and challenges/complexities related to expanding the use of AM production of metallic parts. Among the most significant challenges noted by Small: lack of standards, design allowables and powder specs.
Finally, Small presents an interesting case study describing metal-AM parts recently processed by Moog—15-5PH stainless-steel cylinders for hydraulic flight-control actuators. Learn how metal-AM improved part performance compared to the previously forged parts.
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