3D printing

[WestSussex]

Times are changing fast on the 3D printer market.

Does anybody have an update on printing the perfect stent or catheter with TPU?

I would start with a dilator and widen my urethra to comfortable 22Fr. How long would each Fr increase take and what would the best stent be?

So far I was successful with latex Foley catheters. I cut away the large tube and keep the small tube to fill the ballon and as retrieval/fishing line. A knot at the end and then I cut away everything behind the knot.

But I'd like to go as far as printing the perfect catheter. Is TPU suitable or still dangerous?

[kasarberang]

3D Printers are not even close to being body safe, materials are not rated or made to be body safe and all 3D printer manufacturers I've talked to (which is a few) have told me they can not verifiable tell me that there is not trace amounts of lead in components of the printer that are involved in the filament extrusion process. Not to mention 3D printed parts can not truly be cleaned because of the way they work, so they are absolutely not recommended to print anything that is intended to be used multiple times that would need to be cleaned.

Almost all 3D printers aren't even suitable to be used for printing food-safe items (such as utensils or plates), much less body safe.

Source: I have a 3D printer and have looked into the matter of printing food/body safe items thoroughly.

Look it up yourself it's a treasure trove of red tape just to get something to be food safe.

By the time you managed to get a printer even close to body safe you would've spent so much money you could've bought yourself hundreds if not thousands of catheters and even than it probably would still not be a body safe printer.

[WestSussex]

Thanks for the input.

How about printing a negative and using silicone to create the final object?

Eg. a long object with a section looking like a star with soft edges / flower. It is hard to describe. Simply something that allows liquids flowing along its outer area.

... the length could be a problem

[kasarberang]

1 hour ago, WestSussex said:

Thanks for the input.

How about printing a negative and using silicone to create the final object?

Eg. a long object with a section looking like a star with soft edges / flower. It is hard to describe. Simply something that allows liquids flowing along its outer area.

... the length could be a problem

That's the only way I could see someone doing this safely, since you're 3D printing a mold essentially and using silicone as the actual thing that's inserted. So long as it's properly sanitized I could see this being alright. Though I'm not going to recommend it because I'm not nearly educated enough on that sort of thing (it's your body do your own research and decide what you are personally comfortable with). What I want to know is why you would want to do such a project? It would probably be more expensive and time consuming than just, buying catheters. Is it just to say that you 3D Printed it or is there another reason?

For me a project like this wouldn't be worth the hassle and potential risk of me doing it wrong and possibly messing up something.

[Bonsai]

3 hours ago, WestSussex said:

Thanks for the input.

How about printing a negative and using silicone to create the final object?

3D printing will often leave a high surface roughness, so some polishing will be required before you can mold the final object

[WestSussex]

15 hours ago, kasarberang said:

That's the only way I could see someone doing this safely, since you're 3D printing a mold essentially and using silicone as the actual thing that's inserted. So long as it's properly sanitized I could see this being alright. Though I'm not going to recommend it because I'm not nearly educated enough on that sort of thing (it's your body do your own research and decide what you are personally comfortable with). What I want to know is why you would want to do such a project? It would probably be more expensive and time consuming than just, buying catheters. Is it just to say that you 3D Printed it or is there another reason?

For me a project like this wouldn't be worth the hassle and potential risk of me doing it wrong and possibly messing up something.

People climb up the Mt. Everest, because it is hard and they could die. Some are willing to fly to Mars knowing they will suffer and most likely not return.

Others sit in an ivory tower and won't risk anything.

It is not about money or anything meaningful. Some try to survive, others try to live. ?

[kasarberang]

4 hours ago, WestSussex said:

People climb up the Mt. Everest, because it is hard and they could die. Some are willing to fly to Mars knowing they will suffer and most likely not return.

Others sit in an ivory tower and won't risk anything.

It is not about money or anything meaningful. Some try to survive, others try to live. ?

I'd hardly compare 3D printing a catheter to climbing Mt. Everest or flying to mars, but to each their own. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[messyman]

If you are going to make molds and cast parts I don't think a 3D printer would be that helpful. You could sculpt a shape for the outside in some kind of clay, make a mold from that and ad a removable core to make it hollow.

Not that I have tried it but I would use wire as the core and bend at least 2 of them to the same shape and maybe make a template to repeat it easily. Then cover 1 wire with a layer of clay to make the outside shape and make the mold from that. Then take the 2nd wire and place it in the mold for casting to get a hollow tube.