ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Additive Manufacturing (AM)

The GIFTED project leverages the potential of Additive Manufacturing (AM), an advanced production technology that overcomes current limitations in the fabrication of implantable endovascular devices. Nickel–Titanium (NiTi) alloy, commonly employed for these devices and traditionally processed through conventional manufacturing techniques, is now produced via 3D printing. This approach enables the realization of novel geometries with optimized designs and allows device customization according to specific clinical requirements and the vascular pathologies to be treated.

Production is carried out using a Renishaw RenAM 500S Flex system, available at the facilities of the University of Pisa. The machine operates through a Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) process, an additive manufacturing technique based on the selective melting of thin layers of metal powder. In this process, a high-power laser beam scans the surface of the powder bed, melting the material particles according to the cross-sectional geometry defined by the CAD model. Layer by layer, the component is additively built until the desired geometry is fully achieved.

This approach ensures high precision and reproducibility, while also enabling the fabrication of complex structures and topologies that cannot be obtained through conventional subtractive or formative manufacturing techniques.