Children's helmets with new functionalities

The German company OT4 Orthopädietechnik focuses on innovating the production of orthopaedic products through the process of digitalization. It combines the technologies of 3D scanning, 3D printing and specialized software to create orthoses and other personalized products. One such product is the production of children's protective helmets. Designers can design products with complex shapes and functionalities that were previously impossible to manufacture afterwards. By applying conventional technologies, the company has not been able to guarantee the production of items with the same durability and quality and, most importantly, save doctors dozens of hours of work.

As the company from Ostrava, Invent Medical uses an HP Jet Fusion 3D printer and the building material PA 11. The flexibility and durability of polyamide is exactly what they were looking for. Human limbs are constantly in motion, and the brace bends, stretches or contracts at the same time. The orthoses are often very thin, they have to be soft to the touch, very flexible and at the same time withstand a lot of pressure. The PA 11 material makes it possible to make the resulting models even thinner and as light as possible.

OT4 has calculated that by using HP Multi Jet Fusion additive technology, it can save up to 30 per cent in costs compared to other manufacturing methods. They can experiment, rapidly prototype, test and produce on the same equipment.