BiPAD ® , LLC has engaged Epsilon Industries to review BiPAD ® CAD/CAM design for transition to mold-based production from 3-D printing. Ergonomic design of a hand switch for bipolar electrocautery required mo than fifty prototypes over two years with input from many surgeons in different specialties.
Additive manufacturing, while rapid and relatively inexpensive, is not yet able to produce a product like BiPAD ® for the consumer. Mold-based production offers many advantages, including reduced cost per unit in large quantities, higher resolution and a broader selection of plastics with characteristics that enhance BiPAD ® design.
We expect that the BiPAD ® switch housing will actually reduce in size using mold-based production and that the external arms will be thinner yet less elastic than those produced by 3D printing. Assessment of the BiPAD ® CAD/CAM design for mold-based production is an important next step. Only minor modification were required for this transition.