www.epi-tec.com

[SF Scheuermann]

provides the service of anaplastology, the custom making of facial prosthesis (craniofacial prosthesis)using Rapid Prototype Technologie.
we offer this Service World Wide.Please get in touch with us and visit our Site for more Information.

[TMeeks]

provides the service of anaplastology, the custom making of facial prosthesis (craniofacial prosthesis)using Rapid Prototype Technologie.
we offer this Service World Wide.Please get in touch with us and visit our Site for more Information.

This is just another example of the tremendous promise for ALL society that the rapid prototype technology advances bring to the table. What is REALLY going to be the exciting part of the equation is the search for better and better materials that can be used to expand the applications.

I really enjoyed looking over the web site and pondering what a difference it could make to a life that needs it. Thanks

[SF Scheuermann]

What is REALLY going to be the exciting part of the equation is the search for better and better materials that can be used to expand the applications

What kind of Materials would you like to use?
there are several Technologies in Rapid Prototype available wich range from very hard Materials (rough or glossy surface)to soft materials that are able to melt like Wax.All Materials are suitable to work them using standard Tools.
we although use Printers that can Print using 24bit colors.

best Regards from Germany

[anton]

hi i am a medical orthotist and prothotist working in cape town south africa.
do you juse stades to attach the prothetic or are they for inplants only.
anton

[TMeeks]

What kind of Materials would you like to use?
there are several Technologies in Rapid Prototype available wich range from very hard Materials (rough or glossy surface)to soft materials that are able to melt like Wax.All Materials are suitable to work them using standard Tools.
we although use Printers that can Print using 24bit colors.

best Regards from Germany

It's not so much that I have a particular material in mind. I'm simply interested in the long-term experimentation of materials. The Fab @ Home (http://www.fabathome.com) project at Cornell University is a novel and fun approach to that kind of experimentation... such as using clay slip or simple household silicon glue. As 3D printing moves closer to the small office or home envrinment, non-toxic and bio-degradeable materials like the current cornstarch derived polymers will be a 'must'. I really don't know how many of the currently used materials might be considered toxic WHILE the frabrication is occuring since the tools sold to business can readily deal with toxicity issues with filters and vents. When this stuff moves into the home, non-toxic will be a must.

From a sculptural, One of the things that drew me to the 3D printing concept is exactly the same reason it works for your medical prothetic applications. Whereas molds and routers often require no undercuts, 3D printing, using two materials in the printing part of the fabrication process... one that is 'lost' later by melting or washing away... can easily handle some of the the most complex shapes. The 'ear' on your website demonstrates this very well.

Plus, there is the scalability. I recently read where they have used, or are planning to use, giant concrete spraying 3D 'Printers' to build homes.

It's a fascinating subject!

By the way, many, many years ago, while working for a video game company (Astrocade -The Bally Professional Arcade (http://www.ballyAlley.com)), I was fortunate to have been able to spend a fair amount of time in Germany working with Standard Elektrik Lorenz in Pforzheim. What a wonderful time I had each and every visit!

Lastly, I'm sure your artists have their preferred workflow. But, I wonder if they've looked at a new 3D modeling application called Mudbox (http://www.mudbox3d.com). I don't know, for sure, how well it might fit your more precise requrements; but, from a detail point of view, it's pretty slick. I'm pretty sure that it can export an .STL file. It would at least be fun for them to visit the Mudbox gallery.

[SF Scheuermann]

hi i am a medical orthotist and prothotist working in cape town south africa.
do you juse stades to attach the prothetic or are they for inplants only.
anton

hi anton,

If we have the chance to use specific areas we keep the prothetic attached using glue, otherwise the combined use of ct data & rapid p. technologie deliver perfect drillguides wich will reduce drasticly time and mistakes during implantsurgery.

large orbitadefects require mostly an implantinsertion so we figured theres is no rule for just 1 solution.therefore we plan in both directions.

[SF Scheuermann]

thx for your reply..
you can find rp technologie in almost any business..even jewelrydesigner are using 3d printerservices.
we have been asked to build within 3 days a very complex 6,7ft fantasycharacter wich would be impossible to make in traditional sculpting technique using clay or some stuff like that in that short period of time..so we captured the character within the game and worked it until we could do the printjob. every extreme undercutposition was possible in basicly no time.
the materials we used were nontoxic ,but if you would leave them without a paintjob..they would change their own color a littlebit but without any deformation or shrinking at all.
in the maybe close future rp tech. will be even more cheaper for anyone so smalloffices or private persons can produce their own prototypes themselve.
but as i know is that you still need more than export as stl and feed the printer...we need to fix almost any object we receive from 3d scannersystems until any object is printed out in the way you want it.

we use haptic navigationsystems to actually feel the 3d object like you do in traditional modeling techniques ..

best regards ...

[anton]

hi thank's i am making finger's for parsal missing finger's and have just started to do this i take a alganate cast of the hand the cast it in material one from rohm and haas in south africa then make it silicon from smooth-on . theyfit on by suspension so that they can put it on or take it off as they plaese. the ear and nose will come later . there are one or two guy's here that are dowing it with the inplantes and the silicon finger have a stade that fasen's onto the inplant. it new tecnolige that i like to know about.
thank's
anton