Thermoforming slashes 50% weight & cost from medical table components

How pressure formed quality outperforms 3D printing for commercializing large medical devices

3D printing works great for prototypes. A medical device OEM tried it for their new cancer screening table and found it produced heavy, fragile, and costly enclosures. Switching to pressure forming with Profile Plastics cut part weight and cost by more than 50% with greater durability and scalability.

Project Overview

The manufacturer’s new screening solution identifies cancer with greater accuracy. The 3D ultrasound scanning offered greater effectiveness and eliminated radiation for added safety. The concept also provided patients with greater comfort and privacy for a more positive experience.

The system was efficiently packaged into an exam-type table which needed an attractive surround. The design team contracted with an additive manufacturing solution provider for prototypes. However, they discovered some unexpected drawbacks to the process.

As they prepared for a full market launch, the company needed to correct paint issues with the table enclosures. They also needed a viable manufacturing process that could scale to higher volume as sales grow. Profile Plastics showed the customer how pressure forming could cost-effectively improve quality and volume. 

Challenge: Can thermoforming offer value competitive to 3D printing?

In highly regulated industries like medical devices, product development for new systems is time-consuming and expensive. After launch, lower production volumes and longer sales cycles than in consumer-facing markets also add pricing pressure.

The advantages of 3D printing make it attractive for prototyping: complex design capabilities along with reduced set up time and cost. While effective for small products, it faces limitations when creating very large parts and/or larger production volumes.

The four panels of the scanning table enclosure project included two sides and two end parts. Each prototype panel was 3D printed as multiple pieces which had to be bonded together with adhesives. After that, the finished parts needed to be sanded and painted.

Comparing the assembled pressure formed enclosure to the original 3D enclosure

Support ribs built onto the inside of each piece helped the completed parts stay rigid. However, the ribs added significant weight. The heavier parts didn’t handle shipping well, resulting in poor quality. Defects such as scruffs and scratches were difficult to avoid.

Comparing the inside of the pressure formed side panel to the 3D panel

The customer was dealing with several pain points. Central were:

1. Quality and service. When the parts arrived from overseas, they required maintenance and repainting.
2. Long term growth. The current manufacturing couldn’t scale. The team needed a process with improved efficiency that could reduce costs at volume.

Thermoforming could provide a good next step. However, the company had limited engineering resources. That’s where Profile could help.

Solution: Production tooling changes everything

Profile Plastics offers DFM (Design for Manufacturing) engineering support, which helps optimize product designs for effective thermoforming. This service is invaluable for customers with fewer resources or less experience preparing for manufacturing.

For this customer, DFM allowed them to navigate the process change. Several modifications helped make the scanning table enclosure panels stronger and lighter.

Simple but powerful design improvements were added by Profile’s engineers. These included discrete undercut tabs that aligned panels for easy assembly, and hidden attachment points that secured the enclosure cleanly to the table structure.

Profile was able to reduce development steps by designing production tooling or molds from the beginning. Faster tooling progress saves time as well as cost.

As a single-sided process, pressure forming is perfect for equipment enclosures. It also uses much less pressure than processes like injection molding, which helps simplify the tooling and extend its life. Pressure forming tooling often costs just a fraction of injection molds while maintaining injection molded aesthetics.

DFM adds cost-effective design enhancements

The thermoplastics used in pressure forming offer several production advantages for medical enclosures. Rigid thermoformed parts are stronger, requiring less internal support with a thinner wall than many other materials, including the 3D printed panels in this project. That significantly reduces the weight of each part.

Profile recommended ABS material to save weight and expense. The availability of molded-in custom colors also eliminates the need for post-process painting, saving additional maintenance time and cost while improving durability.

Forming the top and lower side panels in different colored materials maintained the customer’s two-tone aesthetic with quality far superior to the previous painted covers.

Profile also offered the customer kanban-style inventory management. Producing parts in cost-effective quantities then shipping them when needed further reduces logistics costs.

Results: Reductions in weight, time, and per-piece costs

Redesigning the enclosure for thermoforming resulted in a production-ready solution at less than half the cost of the original 3D-printed parts. Profile’s parts were over 50% lighter, shipped damage-free, and installed more easily. They also simplified field maintenance.

Complete cancer screening table system

While thermoforming requires the upfront tooling costs that additive manufacturing doesn’t need, the 50% per-part cost savings included the that cost. The tooling would pay for itself relatively quickly. The switch also prepared for effective ongoing production, ensuring the OEM could scale up with confidence.

There were two keys to the success of this project:

1. Profile’s DFM engineering allowed the customer to change their manufacturing process. Profile’s design adjustments and inexpensive production tooling sped up the development process and saved additional cost. It helped prepare the project to go to market.
2. Thermoplastics with molded-in color eliminated post-process painting and post-shipping maintenance while reducing shipping costs.

Thermoforming is especially effective for large parts like those involved in this medical OEM project. Switching to pressure forming and using a dedicated thermoforming expert produced superior parts for less. Save money on your next project, discover how Profile Plastics can effectively help you create complex or innovative parts.