GE Healthcare opens 3D printing lab

GE Healthcare has opened a 3D printing lab designed to speed up the launch of new products for the healthcare industry.

The Innovate Design and Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre for Europe combines advanced manufacturing technology and collaborative robots with traditional machining equipment.  

The centre has opened in Uppsala, Sweden and will ensure that 3D printing processes are considered at the start of the development stage. Research and design teams will work with advanced manufacturing engineers, in collaboration with customers. The centre will ensure that additive expertise is available from the start of production design. Teams will design, test and produce 3D-printed parts for GE Healthcare products and prepare for final transfer to manufacturing.

Andreas Marcstrom, manager of Additive Engineering at GE Healthcare’s Uppsala site, said: “We are exploring opportunities where additive can bring cost savings and technical improvements to our supply chain and products. Simply printing a part doesn’t really deliver that much improvement to a product or process. You have to re-think the entire design – to do this, you need your R&D teams and your additive manufacturing engineers working from the start of the development process – our centre in Uppsala ensures that critical step.”

The centre joins GE Healthcare’s other advanced manufacturing and engineering centre which is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The teams at both sites will collaborate, share knowledge and work on new design ideas.