XJet
XJet KU Leuven
Professor Shoufeng Yang, KU Leuven, shakes hands with Avi Cohen, VP of Healthcare and Education at XJet.
XJet has installed a Carmel 1400C additive manufacturing platform at KU Leuven University in Belgium.
It is the first XJet installation at a European academic institution and will be deployed in a host of university research projects, with the development of medical applications also on the agenda.
The university is hoping to develop applications that have previously not been additive manufacturable, while helping to grow its adoption in the healthcare space. Additive manufacturing first fell under the scope of KU Leuven in 1990 when its Additive Manufacturing Research Group was established. It works closely with the university’s Chemical Engineering Department and Material Science Department and has a keen focus on the medical and pharmaceutical industries. The additive manufacturing group has already produced a number of ceramic bone implants.
Bringing the NanoParticle Jetting-powered XJet Carmel 1400C platform in-house, KU Leuven is looking to take advantage of the machine’s proficiencies in producing highly detailed and accurate parts. The additive manufacturing researchers at the university believe the NanoParticle Jetting technology can play a big role in its aim to accelerate its R&D across Europe and is looking for collaborators to participate in production projects.
“Since the Carmel was installed, we are already reaping the benefits,” said Professor Shoufeng Yang, Professor of Additive Manufacturing, Production Engineering at KU Leuven University. “The XJet system offers the high levels of precision and exceptional detailing required, levels which were previously impossible or extremely time consuming in post-processing. The use of soluble support materials, with no harmful powders, makes it a much easier process and opens up opportunities to innovate that simply did not exist before. It’s an amazing and fantastic technology for R&D in universities and for the manufacturing industry, and it’s very exciting to be a part of. I believe that this is the best ceramic additive manufacturing method which can be easily upgraded into future multi-materials additive manufacturing, which is a grand challenge in the AM industry.”
“Institutions like KU Leuven University are essential to the ongoing growth of AM and specifically medical AM, allowing for breakthrough research developments as we have seen with previous examples,” added Avi Cohen, VP of Healthcare and Education at XJet. “KU Leiven is the latest addition to our growing install base in Europe.”
