Investment casting for pharmaceutical technology, rehabilitation technology and medical technology

Runner made of investment casting

Medical facilities

This component is used in the production process of infusion agents. The highest demands are therefore placed on the material with regard to medicine compatibility which FEINGUSS BLANK  realises with a smart lightweight solution made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel. We can implement the complex geometry exactly with our precision casting.

Case made of investment casting for operating application

Surgical device

As to components for surgery, the challenges lie in the choice of materials with regard to allergy compatibility and absolute sterility. Our application engineers have solved these requirements with a very complex and filigree component geometry.

Medical implants – Hip socket /acetabulum

New in the manufacturing portfolio since 2020 are medical implants. The range produced includes both hip sockets and components of a surgical set in various sizes. The replacement of a loosened or worn hip prosthesis is called hip prosthesis exchange or hip prosthesis revision. The indication field of the developed hip sockets are precisely these hip revisions as well as complex defect situations such as hip dysplasia.

The surgery sets, on the other hand, cover interventions for tumour diseases. The special feature here is their modular structure which allows doctors to select and use individual components depending on the characteristics of the bone sections to be replaced.

FEINGUSS BLANK decided to set up a separate production line and to use the centrifugal casting process in order to meet the qualitative and geometrical requirements of the hip sockets in the casting.

The hip socket casting consists of a massive bowl-shaped head, on the surface of which are hundreds of small so-called tripods. These fine, cross-shaped anchors are the link between the implant and the bone allowing the socket to be implanted without cement. So the structure ensures hold and strength of the implant in the human body, the so-called primary stability. In the long term, the bone grows into this structure which leads to additional stability.

Before working with us, the tripods were glued to the socket by hand in the wax part which was very time-consuming and made each implant a unique piece. Within the project implementation, FEINGUSS BLANK was able to achieve a realisation in wax 3D printing which enables a placement of the tripods accurate to a tenth of a millimetre. This method of production enables a better distribution of the tripods, a more secure mechanical connection between tripods and hip head, procures continuity to the process and achieves a reduction in personnel costs.

The hip sockets are manufactured in a variety of sizes and executions. In addition, the surgical sets are composed of over 200 individual parts. A cobalt-chrome alloy is used for all investment castings. Unlike the hip sockets, the system components are manufactured using atmospheric casting. Due to the variety of different parts (different sizes, right/left variants), each individual component has different requirements that have to be taken into account. The challenge here lies particularly in the process-safe casting of the material.