3D printing with titanium: 5 questions with Riccardo Toninato at Enovis

LimaCorporate — now owned by Enovis — manufactures 3D-printed titanium orthopedic implants using electron beam (e-beam) melting, but also has laser equipment for additive manufacturing prototyping and other R&D.

Riccardo Toninato led LimaCorporate’s additive manufacturing R&D as additive manufacturing manager and joined Enovis in the same capacity when it purchased LimaCorporate and its portfolio of 3D-printed Trabecular Titanium implants in January 2024.

Medical Design & Outsourcing recently spoke with Toninato about titanium 3D printing to help other device developers use additive manufacturing for new and improved products. The following has been lightly edited for space and clarity.

MDO: What is the primary difference between 3D printing titanium with lasers and electron beam melting?

Toninato: “That can be very easy to explain or very complicated, because if you look at our products, our target was really to have the same Trabecular Titanium out of the two technologies. This is a must — you need to have the same geometrical features and the same mechanical features. So when we manufacture Trabecular Titanium with laser or e-beam, the geometrical features and the mechanical features should be the same. And this can be achieved only with the specific parameter development for the technology and specific machine development. But if we talk generally from a global point of view, e-beam is a hot process in vacuum and it is quite fast from a production perspective. You have high productivity — you can stack parts upon each other if the design allows it, of course. On the other side, laser can have a more precise dimension of the laser itself, so it could be better for final features. You need to heat treat the laser parts after the process because it’s a cold process, not a hot process. There are pros and cons in both technologies. In my opinion, it’s extremely important to target the correct business case the correct application for them. There is no one technology that wins over the other for all applications. It’s a matter of what do you want to do.”

MDO: What are some determining factors?

Toninato: “It’s a combination of several factors. When you develop an implant, you put the safety and effectiveness first. … The additive manufacturing technology is normally the first step of the process to create an implant, then you have the machining. The requirements from the designers for this specific application are fundamental — dimensionally and mechanically — but it’s also a matter of the business case, because we see new technologies, and we are always at the edge of innovation. So even if we have a lot of experience with e-beam, we also are at the edge of innovation because we want to be pioneers as we were in the past and continue to lead additive manufacturing orthopedic technologies. We are experimenting as much as we can when we do prototyping and development. You can have larger platforms, larger volumes, or you can modify the parameters of the machine in order to get special properties out of it. And that’s, of course, something that you create only if you build year after year solid know-how on the technology.”

MDO: What other applications do you see for this kind of 3D printing technology?

Toninato: “We are actually working on a lot. The integration between the two companies is really enhancing the development and we are very excited about that. … The cementless application is the one where additive manufacturing can play the biggest part, in my opinion. There is also a rising interest, in my opinion, in custom, specific, and patient-matched implants where additive manufacturing can probably play an important role.”

MDO: Is there anything you can share with others to help them adopt titanium 3D printing faster?

Toninato: “You need to be a little patient sometime with the technology. Take [the time] to learn and to study very well in order to provide the best solution. And for that you need to find the right team of people to work with and establish good partnerships and collaboration with research centers and hospitals.”

MDO: What technologies are you hoping for to take 3D printing with titanium to the next level?

Toninato: “The first one that I’m looking for is a new generation of printers. … We are very close with machine manufacturers to stay at the edge of innovation. I’ve also seen things coming in depth of field, and I have the feeling there will be great innovation there.”

Read more: 3 inevitable innovations in materials for 3D printing orthopedics