Mitsubishi Chemical America’s Performance Polymers Division (PPD), Filament Innovations, and Dyze Design have partnered together to send two high-flow 3D printers and spools of CPX filament to hospitals in Ukraine to aid in faster printing of prosthetic sockets for amputees.
According to the Limbs for Life Foundation, with the escalation of the war in Ukraine, there are as many as 8,000-10,000 soldiers and civilians who have lost limbs and need care.
Filament Innovations, a family-owned FDM & FGF 3D Printer manufacturer, will be providing the integrated prosthetic sizing software and two of their Kratos printers, Mitsubishi Chemical America’s PPD’s initial donation of CPX filament will be enough to assist with 100+ patients, and Dyze Design, an industrial equipment supplier in Longueuil, Quebec, will provide two high-flow Typhoon filament systems.
“There is high demand for prosthetic limbs in Ukraine and we have the available technology to assist. As a small business owner, I don’t like to sit on the sidelines and want to jump in and help as much as possible. Filament Innovations was founded to make a real-world difference utilizing 3D printing, and we have a huge opportunity to really help the people of Ukraine with this technology,” said Michael Gorski, CEO of Filament Innovations.
Gorski will be traveling to Lviv, Ukraine this summer to set the printers up and train the staff on properly using them. The Kratos printer can print a prosthetic socket in 1-2 hours versus the standard 12-18 hours per print on other machines. Technicians will print both the check socket using clear PET-G to check the fit of the prosthetic and the preparatory socket made of CPX material for the Above Knee (AK) or Below Knee (BK) piece. CPX is a high-impact co-polymer polypropylene filament and FGF pellet. Working closely with MCA’s R&D, Filament Innovations adopted CPX for their systems. Their customers have found it to be excellent for prosthetic applications.
“We are happy to collaborate with Filament Innovations on this Ukraine donation by sending PET-G and CPX material so they can get a good start on the needs of the amputees and see where we can go from there,” said Allen Mishek, 3DP Account Manager for Mitsubishi Chemical America’s Performance Polymers Division.